Study: Even "BPA-Free" Plastics Leach Endrocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

[HuckleB]

http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/03/08/study-even-bpa-free-plastics-leach-endrocrine-disrupting-chemicals/

"Plastics. They seem so...inert. Slow to erode or decay, with a biodegradation time measured in the hundreds of years, plastics appear cut off from the organic environment in the way that no other product is, safe and secure and sterile. Yet scientists have begun to learn that plastics are anything but impermeable. Plastic containers and linings—especially those used in food containers that might end up being heated or washed—often leach chemicals into the surrounding environment. And some of those chemicals—like bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates—may do strange things to the body, mimicking and disrupting hormones in ways that haven't yet been fully understood.

While the science over such "endocrine disrupting" chemicals is still far from certain, enough researchers have raised worries that some parents have begun avoiding some plastics in an effort to shield children from toxins. (Pregnant women and infant children seem especially vulnerable to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.) Manufacturers have even begun advertising some products as "BPA-free."

Beijing might have the right idea, because it may turn out that endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA are even more common than we imagined. In a new study for the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers found that most plastic products leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals—and that was true even for products labeled "BPA-free." Scientists led by George Bittner, a neurobiologist at the University of Texas, looked at 455 common plastic products and found that 70% tested positive for estrogenic activity. Once those products were subject to real-world conditions—microwaving or dishwashing—that proportion rose to 95%. As the study concluded:

Almost all commercially available plastic products we sampled, independent of the type of resin, product, or retail source, leached chemicals having reliably-detectable EA, including those advertised as BPA-free. In some cases, BPA-free products released chemicals having more EA than BPA-containing products.

..."


---------------------------------------------------


FYI...

:hi:

[lumpy]

1. Just as we have expected. I am swithching to glass; jars etc.

Been saving glass pickle jars etc; easier to clean and stain proof.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. + 1

Me too.

[WatsonT]

3. Stuff out of glass seems to taste better too

may be all in my head but that's my experience.

[jwirr]

4. So I have been buying storage containers for foods such as sugar,

cereals, etc. Is this a problem with that usage also?

[mhatrw]

5. Less of a problem.

But still a problem.

[RedEarth]

6. Also from Time: The Perils of Plastic

Thursday, Apr. 01, 2010
The Perils of Plastic
By Bryan Walsh

On the first Earth Day, celebrated 40 years ago this month, the U.S. was a poisoned nation. Dense air pollution blanketed cities like Los Angeles, where smog alerts were a fact of life. Dangerous pesticides like DDT were still in use, and water pollution was rampant — symbolized by raging fires on Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, captured in a famous 1969 story for TIME. But the green movement that was energized by Earth Day — and the landmark federal actions that followed it — changed much of that. Today air pollution is down significantly in most urban areas, the water is cleaner, and even the Cuyahoga is home to fish again. Though climate change looms as a long-term threat, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day will see a much cleaner country.

But if the land is healing, Americans may be sickening. Since World War II, production of industrial chemicals has risen rapidly, and the U.S. generates or imports some 42 billion lb. (19 billion kg) of them per day, leaving Americans awash in a sea of synthetics. These aren't the sorts of chemicals that come to mind when we picture pollution — huge plants spilling contaminated wastewater into rivers. Rather, they're the molecules that make good on the old "better living through chemistry" promise, appearing in items like unbreakable baby bottles and big-screen TVs. Those chemicals have a habit of finding their way out of everyday products and into the environment — and ultimately into living organisms. A recent biomonitoring survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found traces of 212 environmental chemicals in Americans — including toxic metals like arsenic and cadmium, pesticides, flame retardants and even perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel. "It's not the environment that's contaminated so much," says Dr. Bruce Lanphear, director of the Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center. "It's us." (See pictures of the world's most polluted places.)

As scientists get better at detecting the chemicals in our bodies, they're discovering that even tiny quantities of toxins can have a potentially serious impact on our health — and our children's future. Chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates — key ingredients in modern plastics — may disrupt the delicate endocrine system, leading to developmental problems. A host of modern ills that have been rising unchecked for a generation — obesity, diabetes, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — could have chemical connections. "We don't give environmental exposure the attention it deserves," says Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at New York City's Mount Sinai Medical Center. "But there's an emerging understanding that kids are uniquely susceptible to environmental hazards." (See the top 10 household toxins.)

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1976909_1976908_1976938,00.html

[Tumbulu]

7. Oh my goodness, I did the finishing work on

George Bittner's house a lifetime ago.....

I have never trusted any plastics and store most everything I can in Mason jars. But it is nearly impossible to completely avoid, it seems.

[Kennah]

8. We have to embrace plant-based plastics and dump petro plastic