Several new, independent studies are questioning assumptions about the threat bisphenol A (BPA) poses to humans. Researchers in both the United States and Japan have separately come to the conclusion that BPA does not pose any serious or long-term health risks.
The American study, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and using experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), tracked the levels of BPA in blood and urine over a 24-hour period to see what effect it would have on the body. The time period was selected to reflect that almost all BPA exposure comes from food, which would be almost completely process over the course of one day. Taking samples continuously allowed the researchers to measure the levels of BPA at different stages of digestion.
According to lead researcher Justin Teeguarden, the results lead to an obvious conclusion. “Blood concentrations of the bioactive form of BPA throughout the day are below our ability to detect them, and orders of magnitude lower than those causing effects in rodents exposed to BPA,” he said. “For me, the simple takeaway is that if blood concentrations of bioactive BPA are much lower than those in this sensitive animal model, effects in the general human population seem unlikely at best.”
A separate project conducted in Japan by the Research Institute for Safety and Sustainability (RISS) has been monitoring the chemical since 2005. Most recently, in a two-generation study of the reproductive effects of BPA on mice, the institute found “no toxic effects on the reproductive potential.”
Another study by RISS, comparing the amount of BPA absorbed and excreted by children 1 to 6 versus the amount for adults (who had a substantially higher exposure level), concluded that “the risk of BPA with regard to human health was believed to be very small.”
The journal of the American Enterprise Institute, The American, published a widely circulated article on the subject of BPA in its September issue. “Paper and Plastic: When Political Ideology Trumps Sound Science” looked at the many laws cropping up in the U.S. and Canada, and postulated that the laws have less to do with science than saving face and appeasing voters. Writer Jon Entine concludes that, by steering the conversation toward banning BPA, greater threats are overlooked while money and time are both wasted. “At this stage in our scientific understanding, the various bans of BPA will cause more harm than good,” he said.
Still, many watchdog groups warn that the long-term effects of BPA are not yet fully understood, and that it is better to play it safe by avoiding the chemical. Bans like the one recently enacted in California may not have the strongest science support, but have the best interest of the consumer in mind, BPA detractors argue.
While the truth behind the dangers of BPA may remain uncertain for the time-being, many suppliers are erring on the side of caution and investing in BPA-free water bottles and plastics. As a distributor, do you search out BPA-free products for your clients, or do you think the furor over its dangers are unfounded? Let us know in the comments.
