ScienceNews Magazine of the Society for Science & the Public reported that BPA has even been found in carbonless copy papers such as cash-register and credit-card receipts.
The average cash register receipt that’s out there and uses the BPA technology will have 60 to 100 milligrams of free BPA.” By free, he explains, it’s not bound into a polymer, like the BPA in polycarbonatesR It’s just the individual molecules loose and ready for uptake.
Click here for article.
Here’s another article from the Globe and Mail discussing BPA in food packaging. The article discusses a recent study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The study looked at 140 scientific reports on the subject of chemicals migrating out of packaging that is used in food and drink.
The Globe reported:
In many of these reports, researchers detected contaminants leaking from packaging. These include: perfluorinated compounds, used to line containers to make them grease and water resistant but are under investigation as cancer-causing agents; triclosan, an anti-bacterial compound that has leached into flour and rice from containers, and the biocide ortho-phenylphenol, which has been detected in beer.
Even more alarming is Health Canada’s official position. The Globe reported:
Health Canada, in response to questions from The Globe and Mail, said that because these compounds aren’t deliberately placed in food, they don’t come under disclosure rules.
“Health Canada does not require the labelling of trace additives used in food packaging materials because these chemicals are not intentionally added to foods and do not fall under the definition of food additives, which require mandatory labelling,” the agency said.
Critics i.e., the companies argue that the levels pose no risk because they are so small. However, this position is not entirely accurate given what anti-BPA activists have been saying.
Earlier this summer the Globe and Mail reported that BPA was detected in baby food in glass jars. The BPA was found in the metal lining of the lids of the glass jars.
The Globe reported that Health Canada stated there was no reason for concern since the levels of BPA were extremely low. However, an environmental toxin critic stated that Health Canada’s position was hypocritical given the fact that last year the government banned BPA from baby bottles.
In continuing on with yesterday’s story about BPA it should be noted that traces of BPA have been found in products that state they are BPA free.
Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow bottle that has received much praise for being BPA free actually isn’t.
Click here for article.
A new study by the, “University of North Carolina and British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University is the first to examine the link between prenatal BPA exposure and behaviour problems in children.”
The study revealed that:
Daughters of women who were exposed to a common chemical found in plastics, while they were pregnant are more likely to show aggressive and hyperactive behaviours as two-year-olds, a new study shows.
Click here for article.
By now you have probably heard a lot about Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is a chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastic and exposy resins.
According to Health Canada:
Polycarbonate is used in food contact materials such as beverage bottles, infant feeding bottles, food containers, processing equipment and other articles. BPA is often found in clear hard plastics and can be in the lining of some food cans.
According to Toxic Nation:
Bisphenol A is a hormone disruptor. Studies have linked low-dose BPA exposure with such effects as: permanent changes to genital tract; increase prostate weight; decline in testosterone; breast cells predisposed to cancer; prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer; hyperactivity and obesity.
Since 2008 Canada has been the first country in the world to recognize the serious health hazards posed by BPA. As a result, the Canadian government considers BPA toxic under the Canada Environmental Protection Act 1999.
Subsequent reports regarding BPA have been investigated by the government. Since, newborn infants are most at risk this summer, June 26, 2009 the:
Government of Canada announced that it is moving forward with proposed regulations to prohibit the advertisement, sale and importation of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles that contain bisphenol A, otherwise known as BPA, to reduce newborn and infant exposure to this substance.
What is Health Canada doing about the problem? Click here.