BPA in Plastic - Banned in Canada

Bisphenol-A, or commonly called BPA, is a chemical that is commonly found in polycarbonate plastics. BPA is a “monomer” that is used in the chemical polymerization of polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a plastic that is very rigid and commonly used in applications where strength and rigidity are important. BPA is used in many other plastic synthesis applications, such as polyesters, polysulfones, and polyether ketones, as an antioxidant in some plasticizers, and as a polymerization inhibitor in PVC. Applications where polycarbonate, and hence BPA, is used is in baby and water bottles, sports equipment, medical and dental devices, dental composite (white) fillings and sealants, lenses, and household electronics. As you can see, consumers have a large exposure to BPA.

BPA has been used in manufacturing of plastics since the 1930s. Suspected of being hazardous to humans since use began, concerns about the use of bisphenol A in consumer products grabbed headlines in 2008 when several governments issued reports questioning its safety, and some retailers pulled products made from it off their shelves. Just last week, after years of public protest and mounting scientific evidence, the government of Canada made a precedent-setting announcement by banning a known toxic chemical from baby bottles.

BPA has been found to leach out of products such as baby bottles and the lining of some food cans. Most recently, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association linked, for the first time, ’normal’ levels of BPA in a large human population in the U.S. with higher risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The Canadians have already begun to remove this dangerous chemical from the consumer market, but what is being done here in the US? Well, as with many dangerous chemicals in the consumer market, the cost to the chemical industry is very large, and therefore the move to safer alternatives will be a long and hard fought battle. Unfortunately, the consumers cannot expect that the chemical industry has their best interest at heart. An example of this was in the banning of arsenic-based wood preservatives in the consumer market. For years it was known that arsenic causes cancer and that pressure-treated leaches arsenic into humans and the environment. What was done? Nothing for a long period. Only when the EPA got involved did action take place to get this dangerous chemical out of the consumer market. It can be expected that the same process will take place with BPA.

What can you do as a consumer? Educate yourself on BPA and using BPA-free plastics. There are plenty of alternatives out there. Visit Safe Mama for a list of BPA-free containers.