Is the Bisphenol A in polycarbonate a serious hazard to human health?
Abstract: Polycarbonate, which is a polymer plastic, is found in many bottles and food packaging around the world. However, because Bisphenol A is used in the processing of it, there is a potential danger to humans. Bisphenol A is a molecule that is a hormone inhibitor and also mirrors the function of estrogen. Although the EPA has released a safe level for Bisphenol A ingestion, recent research has shown that those levels may not be safe for humans. Until further testing is done, scientists aren’t certain of the threshold of BPA intake in humans before dangerous health effects occur.
Polycarbonate of Bisphenol A is a thermoplastic polymer that is easily
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However, it is the molecule of Bisphenol A that is causing the most problems with the polycarbonate.
Bisphenol A’s molecular formula is C15H16O2 and a molecular mass of 288.29.
Three million tons of this hazardous polymer is produced yearly1. At room temperature, it is a white solid and has a phenolic odor. 2 This chemical is an endocrine disrupter, and its presence in large quantities within the body would probably be fatal. Tests have been done on rats with exposure to BPA which shows that it raises levels of hormones such as prolactin in both males and females as well as lowering the level of testosterone. 3 Studies have shown that BPA is comparative to the estrogen hormone, as supported by those test results on rats. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has set the level of safe exposure to BPA at 50 μg/kg/day, but this is based on research that was done in the
1980s. 4 More recent studies have said that intake at that level would still be seriously
1 http://www.preventdisease.com/news/08/043008_plastic_pollution.shtml
2 Chapin R, Adams J, et al.
3 Benson (131-138)
4 Benson (131-138) www.ewg.org/node/20940 4 harmful to humans, depending on different body chemistry. 5 It is especially more dangerous for women, and even more so for those who are pregnant. The chart on the previous page shows some of the effects of
From 1947 to 1977, these two plants legally discharged from 500,000 to 1.5 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson, and unknowingly saturated the bedrock beneath both sites with at least that much again. There are PCBs in Hudson River water, biota, and sediment from Hudson Falls to New York City - 200 miles that comprise the nations largest Superfund site. Pure PCBs are oozing out of the bedrock to this day, constantly recontaminating the river and over 300,000 pounds remain concentrated in bottom sediments of the river today. The spread of PCBs throughout the Hudson River and the food chain, which it supports, has created one of the most extensive hazardous waste problems in the nation. Polychlorinated biphenyl’s (PCBs) are a group of synthetic oil-like chemicals (therefore insoluble in water) of the organochlorine family. Until their toxic nature was recognized and their use was banned in the 1970s, they were widely used as insulation in electrical equipment, particularly transformers. Reputable chemists have since concluded, “it was probably a mistake ever to make or use PCBs.” These are serious poisons, which have been shown to cause damage to the reproductive, neurological and immune systems of wildlife and humans and are known to cause cancer. Exposure has also been linked to behavioral damage. Specifically, because PCBs in the body mimic estrogen, women of childbearing age and their infants are particularly susceptible
Being that the Northern Tributary was contaminated with Bisphenol A, and the Southern Tributary being free of Bisphenol A displayed the very true haunting effects of the chemical Bisphenol A on local marine life.
In Source B (video), the woman explains these many different chemicals in these kinds of products in which some contain chemicals that affect even the central nervous system and the body in such ways that if anymore of that chemical or toxin is put inside the body it can cause that person to become extremely sick especially with allergies. It is said that scientists actually tested these chemicals in which some have turned out to be even acidic and very dangerous in some
Reinberg, S. (2013, July 31). Plastics Chemical BPA May Harm Human Fertility. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20130731/plastics-chemical-bpa-may-harm-human-fertility-study#1
The overall food contamination by Bisphenol A is unknown, but the nutrition/ health impact of this chemical is an important subject to be discussed for all individuals. The main aim of one study recently analyzed was to assess the reproductive impact of BPA leached from regularly available polycarbonate plastic containers. The bottles specifically chosen for testing were those that were used by children. The migration of BPA occurs in polycarbonate plastics (i.e. water bottles and baby bottles). Toxicology reports show society the importance of evaluating these products before purchase and consumption as a consumer. For a particular experiment, researchers used Daphnia Magna, a small flea that cleans and absorbs particles that infect the solution they are placed in, and bred them in the polycarbonate containers. A control group was created using water bottles without the infection of these creatures. A GC-MS machine to detect the level of BPA released by each polycarbonate plastic then evaluated the water. An increase in the reproduction of BPA was detected when the Daphnia Magna were bred inside the container. Although these organisms effected the leaching of Bisphenol A, the GC-MS was able to detect, through the control group, that BPA is released without DM. An Eco toxicological effect was observed through all of this testing, and provided evidence to substantiate the fact that Bisphenol A is leached from polycarbonate plastics. The BPA was further analyzed in the Daphnia
In the research article “Urinary bisphenol A concentrations and implantation failure among women undergoing in vitro fertilization” written by Shelley Ehrlich, Paige L. Williams, Stacey A. Missmer, Jodi A. Flaws, Katharine F. Berry, Antonia M. Calafat, Xiaoyun Ye, John C. Petrozza, Diane Wright, and Russ Hauser, shows a study done in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), BPA was found to be in more than 90% of urine samples which were obtained from a descriptive sample of U.S residents (3). During the past decades, infertility rates have increased and one of the most impacted areas is the U.S. Some of the most important determinants of reduced fertility are failed implantation, which is thought to account for 50-75% of preclinical pregnancy loss in humans (3). Implantation is regulated by a synchronized interaction hormonal signal, making it weak to
2005). Exposure to the contamination can lead to future health issues. For instance, the development to brain tumors, brain cancers, kidney cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and leukemia as well as reproductive effects such as birth defects, fetal death, and intrauterine growth retardation. This is just one of the many problematic issues pertaining materials used for clothing.
These substances not only trigger liver, heart, kidney and nervous system deterioration, but also cause lung impairment and cancer.
Toxicology-Toxic - may be fatal if swallowed or inhaled. Corrosive, causes burns. Harmful by inhalation and through skin absorption.
Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists therapy may be used to enhance a negative feedback loop between the anterior pituitary and testicles, thus inhibiting the production of TST. LHRH agonists replicate the effects of endogenous luteinizing hormone which cause an acute rise in TST production — followed by a significant decrease in long term TST levels. LHRH antagonists may be used to disrupt the hypothalamic pituitary axis and inhibit the production of male sex androgens. The therapeutical index of LHRH antagonists may be greater than that of LHRH agonists because they do not cause the acute flare in TST as
The researchers suspect that overstimulated neurons could lead to early puberty and interrupt the natural reproductive system. While this study focused on zebrafish, it could speak to larger issues. Could the rise in BPA and BPA-free products explain the "rise in premature human births and early onset of puberty over the past couple of decades," in the United States? Health Day http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/pregnancy-33/pregnancy-news-543/premature-births-on-the-rise-643869.html reports that over 500,000 American babies (or 1 in 8) are born prematurely and the rate of premature births has increased 36 percent since the 1980s. Puberty is also beginning much earlier for girls and boys, some as young as six.
The first main argument to support the use of animal testing based on humans and animals structures similarity.
Endocrine disruptors have the ability to enhance or suppress the functions of hormones by mimicking their shape and binding to the appropriate receptor. They also have the capability to change the structure and activity of the endocrine system, potentially causing various adverse effects to the body. One of the most prevalent and dangerous endocrine disruptors is Bisphenol A, or BPA. Bisphenol A is an organic compound with a structure and function similar to that of the hormone estrogen (Kundakovic and Champagne, 2011).
Clearly, bisphenol-A is a chemical that people or animals should consume. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has shown concern about possible effects of BPA on humans. The possible effects can harm very young children, fetuses, the brain, behavior, and hormones.
The volunteers of this study 1 prior to ingesting BPA were first administered breakfast. They were then given a commercial tomato soup, which contained a 30 μg/kg bw dosage of deuterium labeled (d6) BPA (d6-BPA). Blood samples would be drawn right before the soup was ingested as well as drawn regularly throughout the 24 hour period of study. Urine samples were collected over a