BPA is a primary component of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. The most common applications are water bottles, infant bottles, impact resistant safety glasses and more. The epoxy resins are used metal surfaces that come in contact with food and liquids. Some dental sealants and composites also contain BPA.
BPA is a weak estrogenic compound that is suspected to have a wide range of yet uncharted long and short-term health risks for men, women, and infants.
BPA is found in all plastic items that are sparkling clear such as PET and PETE bottles. That means all your bottled water, nearly all peanut butter, soup cans and other metal cans are lined with BPA. The designation is from the standard recycling codes. Please check out the list of numbers and the correlating descriptive on the Recycling Codes pages.
Over the past 10 years many products have emerged with designations as BPA free. Our recommendation is that you stick with HDPE or preferably glass containers.
BPA Health Issues
The most common means of exposure to BPA is through the intake of food and beverages. BPA can and does leach from the protective internal epoxy coatings of canned foods, water bottles, food storage containers, polycarbonate tableware, and more. The higher the temperature of the item containing BPA, the BPA leaches at an increasing rate.
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to Bisphenol A. In addition, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has approved and initiated numerous studies in order to research the effects and health risks associated with BPA exposure.
Definition – Epigenetic
Relating to, being, or involving a modification in gene expression that is independent of the DNA sequence of a gene
BPA Impact Studies
The 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found detectable levels of BPA in 93% of 2517 urine samples from people six years and older. The CDC NHANES data are considered representative of exposures in the United States.
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to Bisphenol A.
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National Library of Medicine (part of the NIH) Tox Town BPA page
Bisphenol A Induces a Profile of Tumor Aggressiveness in High-Risk Cells from Breast Cancer Patients
In September 2008, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) released its final report on Bisphenol A
The NIEHS & NIH have initiated a series of research projects regarding BPA’s effect on humans.
