BPA, Chemical Used to Make Plastics, Found to Leach from Polycarbonate Drinking Bottles Into Humans

[OKIsItJustMe]

X-Posted from Environment/Energy: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=196465&mesg_id=196465

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2009-releases/bpa-chemical-plastics-leach-polycarbonate-drinking-bottles-humans.html

Press Releases
2009 Releases

BPA, Chemical Used to Make Plastics, Found to Leach from Polycarbonate Drinking Bottles Into Humans

Exposure to BPA May Have Harmful Health Effects

For immediate release: Thursday, May 21, 2009

Boston, MA -- A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that participants who drank for a week from polycarbonate bottles, the popular, hard-plastic drinking bottles and baby bottles, showed a two-thirds increase in their urine of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA). Exposure to BPA, used in the manufacture of polycarbonate and other plastics, has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animals and has been linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes in humans. The study is the first to show that drinking from polycarbonate bottles increased the level of urinary BPA, and thus suggests that drinking containers made with BPA release the chemical into the liquid that people drink in sufficient amounts to increase the level of BPA excreted in human urine.

The study appears on the website of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives and is freely available at http://www.ehponline.org/members/2009/0900604/0900604.pdf.

In addition to polycarbonate bottles, which are refillable and a popular container among students, campers and others and are also used as baby bottles, BPA is also found in dentistry composites and sealants and in the lining of aluminum food and beverage cans. (In bottles, polycarbonate can be identified by the recycling number 7.) Numerous studies have shown that it acts as an endocrine-disruptor in animals, including early onset of sexual maturation, altered development and tissue organization of the mammary gland and decreased sperm production in offspring. It may be most harmful in the stages of early development.

"We found that drinking cold liquids from polycarbonate bottles for just one week increased urinary BPA levels by more than two-thirds. If you heat those bottles, as is the case with baby bottles, we would expect the levels to be considerably higher. This would be of concern since infants may be particularly susceptible to BPA's endocrine-disrupting potential," said Karin B. Michels, associate professor of epidemiology at HSPH and Harvard Medical School and senior author of the study.

The researchers, led by first author Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student in the department of epidemiology at HSPH, and Michels, recruited Harvard College students for the study in April 2008. The 77 participants began the study with a seven-day "washout" phase in which they drank all cold beverages from stainless steel bottles in order to minimize BPA exposure. Participants provided urine samples during the washout period. They were then given two polycarbonate bottles and asked to drink all cold beverages from the bottles during the next week; urine samples were also provided during that time.

The results showed that the participants' urinary BPA concentrations increased 69% after drinking from the polycarbonate bottles. (The study authors noted that BPA concentrations in the college population were similar to those reported for the U.S. general population.) Previous studies had found that BPA could leach from polycarbonate bottles into their contents; this study is the first to show a corresponding increase in urinary BPA concentrations in humans.

One of the study's strengths, the authors note, is that the students drank from the bottles in a normal use setting. Additionally, the students did not wash their bottles in dishwashers nor put hot liquids in them; heating has been shown to increase the leaching of BPA from polycarbonate, so BPA levels might have been higher had students drunk hot liquids from the bottles.

Canada banned the use of BPA in polycarbonate baby bottles in 2008 and some polycarbonate bottle manufacturers have voluntarily eliminated BPA from their products. With increasing evidence of the potential harmful effects of BPA in humans, the authors believe further research is needed on the effect of BPA on infants and on reproductive disorders and on breast cancer in adults.

"This study is coming at an important time because many states are deciding whether to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. While previous studies have demonstrated that BPA is linked to adverse health effects, this study fills in a missing piece of the puzzle-whether or not polycarbonate plastic bottles are an important contributor to the amount of BPA in the body," said Carwile.

The study was supported by the Harvard University Center for the Environment and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Biological Analysis Core, Department of Environmental Health, HSPH. Carwile was also supported by the Training Program in Environmental Epidemiology.

"Use of Polycarbonate Bottles and Urinary Bisphenol A Concentrations," Jenny L. Carwile, Henry T. Luu, Laura S. Bassett, Daniel A. Driscoll, Caterina Yuan, Jennifer Y. Chang, Xiaoyun Ye, Antonia M. Calafat, Karin B. Michels, Environmental Health Perspectives, online May 12, 2009.

For more information:

Todd Datz
617-432-3952
[e-mail]

###

Harvard School of Public Health ( http://www.hsph.harvard.edu ) is dedicated to advancing the public's health through learning, discovery, and communication. More than 400 faculty members are engaged in teaching and training the 1,000-plus student body in a broad spectrum of disciplines crucial to the health and well being of individuals and populations around the world. Programs and projects range from the molecular biology of AIDS vaccines to the epidemiology of cancer; from risk analysis to violence prevention; from maternal and children's health to quality of care measurement; from health care management to international health and human rights. For more information on the school visit: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu

[PDJane]

1. We've been fighting this stuff in baby bottles........

The links are well established.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. This is something new

… Previous studies had found that BPA could leach from polycarbonate bottles into their contents; this study is the first to show a corresponding increase in urinary BPA concentrations in humans.

…

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ima_sinnic]

2. if plastic bottle has a number 7 in the recycling symbol, avoid it, could be BPA

numbers 2, 4, and 5 are safe. #6 is polystyrene and styrofoam and should be banned from the face of the earth. #1 is apparently safe for one-time food or drink use. #3 is rarely seen in food containers, I think. numbers 1-6 refer to specific types of plastic, but #7 is "other," so could have BPA.

Google recycle plastics numbers for more info.

some insights into plastics "recycling" (which apparently is a showboat kind of thing that doesn't really happen that much): http://www.valcorerecycling.org/affair/archives/2002-08-04.htm

[DCKit]

10. AFAIK, BPA is the chemical used to make plastics flexible.

Given that, it's in more than just the #7 products.

Additionally, water, acids, fats and alcohol are all solvents. Whether or not BPA is soluble in all of these is debatable. I have, however, been informed directly that acid foods (tomato sauce, specifically) literally suck the BPA out of the plastic, especially when hot or heated in the microwave.

Personally, I'm partial to glass, ceramic and stainless steel containers for all my food and drink - specifically the hot ones and for the microwave.

[mzmolly]

4. Dental sealants contain BPA as well.

Super huh!?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/health/21well.html?ref=science

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. From the OP

…

In addition to polycarbonate bottles, which are refillable and a popular container among students, campers and others and are also used as baby bottles, BPA is also found in dentistry composites and sealants and in the lining of aluminum food and beverage cans. (In bottles, polycarbonate can be identified by the recycling number 7.) Numerous studies have shown that it acts as an endocrine-disruptor in animals, including early onset of sexual maturation, altered development and tissue organization of the mammary gland and decreased sperm production in offspring. It may be most harmful in the stages of early development.

…

[mzmolly]

7. Sorry

I missed that.

[paulsby]

6. sports scientists/nutritionists been making these claims for decades

i have been told and follow the following principles.

i maintain minimal exposure to food that has been exposed/stored in plastic.

iow, plastic containers, etc. are bad.

they are even worse if you microwave them. i know people who microwave saran wrapped food. that's insane.

glass, ceramic, and metal (reynolds wrap). that's what i use to store food.

period.

plastic. bad.

environmental estrogens . bad

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. However, please bear in mind that if it's stored in cans, it's stored in plastic

The trusty old "tin can" is lined with plastic, and that plastic is made with BPA.

…

In addition to polycarbonate bottles, which are refillable and a popular container among students, campers and others and are also used as baby bottles, BPA is also found in dentistry composites and sealants and in the lining of aluminum food and beverage cans. (In bottles, polycarbonate can be identified by the recycling number 7.) Numerous studies have shown that it acts as an endocrine-disruptor in animals, including early onset of sexual maturation, altered development and tissue organization of the mammary gland and decreased sperm production in offspring. It may be most harmful in the stages of early development.

…

For years, I've discouraged people from doing the old Summer camper's trick, cooking in a #10 can.

If you cannot trust food/drink that's stored in plastic, and you cannot trust food/drink that's stored in metal, that pretty much leaves you with glass. Because (for example) the trusty old "milk carton" is also lined with plastic.

[Wednesdays]

8. K&R

:kick:

[Mamacrat]

12. Lines aluminum bottles.

There is a very popular aluminum bottle that is lined with a "proprietary material," thought to contain BPA. They include those that are really cute for children, which I did not buy for our son when I read about the liner.