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The Effects Of Bpa On Human Health

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Bisphenol-A, commonly referred to as BPA, is a synthetic carbon compound present in consumer plastic products. These products include water bottles, food containers, canned foods coated with protective linings, and shopping receipts. According to the CDC, 93% of Americans have traces of BPA chemicals present in their urine samples. This has recently attracted attention in the media because BPA is linked with a plethora of potential health hazards; such as the development of cancer, diabetes, asthma, and disruptions in the endocrine system. Scientists currently focus on the estrogenic activity caused by levels of BPA chemicals found in consumer plastic products, and are concerned about the potential negative effects on human health. This concern is based studies which have shown disruptions in the reproductive and endocrine systems of laboratory rats (Vinas and Watson 2013). The estrogenic properties of the compound BPA were first discovered by British medical researcher Edward Charles Dodds in the 1930s. Dodds aimed to create a drug that could be used to treat problems relating to pregnancy symptoms, menopause, menstruation, and the prevention of miscarriages. Although BPA was not successful in the medical industry, around the same time, chemists in Switzerland and the United States discovered that BPA could be made into epoxy resins. This new discovery quickly became popular in the industrial production industries for uses such as piping, adhesives, and protective

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