The Hormone Disrupting Plastic Building Block

Industrial chemical used as a monomer (or chemical backbone) to make polycarbonate plastic, which is widely used in reusable water bottles, baby bottles, pacifiers, plastic utensils, children’s toys, compact discs, and certain microwaveable and reusable plastic containers. BPA is also used in some dyes, enamels, varnishes, flooring, adhesive, fungicides, antioxidants, dental sealants and artificial teeth. A chemical derivative of BPA called bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is used to make epoxy resins which are widely used in many applications. Human exposure to bisphenol A (and BADGE) results from the use of BADGE in the clear lining of metal food and drink cans.
A migrates from cans into food and leaches from polycarbonate plastic bottles, especially when the plastic is heated or as it ages. As evidence of the chemical’s “leaky” nature, BPA has been found in 40% of stream water samples surveyed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Humans are exposed through ingesting contaminated food, liquids and breast milk.
Bisphenol A in Maine People:
Maine participants for both bisphenol A and for a metabolite of BADGE known as BADGE-4OH which forms in the body. Since BPA and BADGE are not persistent in the body, detection reflects recent exposure. at levels ranging from 3.75 to 6.64 parts per billion. These results range from six to ten times greater than the average blood levels of BPA reported in one study of 14 women published in the scientific literature, and were also higher than the median and average in two other small studies.
 BADGE metabolite was found in five of the Maine participants, including the same three people with detectable levels of BPA in their blood. The two highest of the five reported Maine levels for BADGE-4OH (59.7 ppb and 119 ppb) were more than five to ten times greater than the geometric mean level of about 9.33 parts per billion resulting from one other small study.
Their results were significantly higher than the average levels reported elsewhere. We cannot explain their elevated levels of bisphenol A and its related compound based on their exposure surveys.
Ultra Low-Dose Hormone Disruptor:
A is a potent endocrine disrupting chemical in lab animals at very low doses that is suspected of causing reproductive damage and birth defects that may lead to prostate and breast cancer. Studies have found that BPA can have adverse health effects at levels thousands of times lower than what the EPA considers safe. According to the low dose hypothesis, small and repeated exposures to bisphenol A can have an amplified effect on the human body by mimicking human sex hormones, or promoting cell proliferation.
 A as a weak estrogen, and says there is little concern with human exposure levels. Between 1998 and 2005, 115 studies of BPA were published. None of the 11 studies funded by industry reported adverse effects at low level exposures, whereas 94 of 104 government-funded studies found statistically significant effects on animals. Adverse effects were found at levels to which many people in the U.S.
Policy Changes Needed:

The City and County of San Francisco banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of child care articles and toys containing bisphenol A and some phthalates for children under three years old as of December 1, 2006. Under the ordinance, San Francisco manufacturers of baby bottles, pacifiers, and toys for young children must replace BPA and phthalates with the least toxic alternatives. A similar measure was introduced in the California Legislature in 2006 but failed to pass. Similar legislation is pending in several states including Maine.