MUST READ!!!

Biochemist Frederick vom Saal's pointed critique of the US chemical industry, and why we are 10 years behind Japan in banning BPA from everything

Maine Doctor Explains Endocrine Effects of BPA on fetuses

Here's the link: Evidence mounts linking BPA to damage of embryos

Diane Feinstein Is My Hero

Hurdles remain for food safety bill

By Tom Karst

Published on 08/20/2010 02:26PM

The Packer

The finish line may be in sight, but the race for Senate food safety reform isn’t over yet.

Despite the release of the bipartisan manager’s amendment for Senate food safety reform legislation Aug. 12, there are hurdles to cross before the bill is voted on, said Kelli Ludlum, director of congressional relations for the Washington, D.C.-based American Farm Bureau Federation.

The Senate apparently plans to take the legislation up fairly early when it returns in September, she said.

“They are trying to get a unanimous consent agreement on floor time,” she said.

One contentious issue that remains unsolved is the effort to amend the bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to restrict the use of the chemical Bisphenol A (known as BPA) in food and beverage containers.

Another point of uncertainty is how an amendment by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., to exempt smaller operations from some requirements under the legislation will be received. “I think Tester is still planning on offering the amendment,” Ludlum said.

If those issues aren’t resolved and a time agreement is not in hand, Ludlum said it is unlikely Senate leaders will bring the legislation to the floor.

“If they can’t get an agreement with Feinstein, I don’t think there is any way this comes to the floor before the election,” she said.

Tester’s amendment would exempt operations with adjusted gross incomes under $500,000 from some requirements.

Farm Bureau doesn’t not support food safety exemptions based on revenue measures, she said.

“We think there are some compelling arguments for exemptions based on risk profiles or perhaps the type of production, but in terms of just a blanket exemption based on a dollar figure, I don’t know how you make that argument in the context of food safety,” she said.

She said Farm Bureau and food manufacturers have problems with Feinstein’s aggressive attempt to restrict BPA. “It’s a potential deal breaker.”

Although the group is generally pleased with changes in the manager’s amendment relating to food recall procedures and the pathway to traceability, Ludlum said the Farm Bureau has not taken a position yet on the Senate legislation.

Tags: food safety , legislation , regulation

link to article in Packer

BPA easily absorbed through skin from paper receipts!

http://thesoftlandingbaby.com/2010/07/28/can-bpa-be-absorbed-through-the-skin

Yay, Soft Landing!

Another Regulatory Hound Catches the Scent

http://acronymrequired.com/2010/03/bpa-and-the-epa-scrutiny-without-mutiny.html

But will the chemical industry manage to elude this regulatory body as well? And as everybody seems to only want to talk about BPA, and not all the other Bisphenol related chemicals, are we just going to end up getting the switcheroo pulled on us, like happened to my store with our "BPA-free" cash register paper, which had BPS in it instead.

Fish Canner Acknowledges Concern over Can Linings

and lists its BPA-free products.

This is progress, people!!

http://www.crownprince.com/bpa1.htm

give me sugar instead of poison

maybe this is a real alternative to BPA in can linings

words of the day

food can linings often contain an epoxy lining that contains BPA, alternately, in might be made from

oleoresinous c-enamel

lids from glass jars often contain BPA, alternately, they might be

PVC-based organosol lacquer

instead

it's not BPA, but Gen Mills is not going to tell you what it IS!

I sent this letter to Muir Glen (aka General Mills), and received a charming corporate answer (quoted below):
As for me personally, this particular corporate response is going to make me increase the number of units of canned food I eat per year from 0 to 0.


I was very pleased to hear that Muir Glen will be switching to a non-BPA containing can lining in the coming season. I would like to know the name of the new can lining product that will be used in the fall. As well, it would be very helpful to know the ingredients of this new formulation of can liner. It is certainly a welcome change to hear that our industrial partners are taking these issues of food safety seriously, especially in light of the research highlighting the deleterious effects of estrogen-mimicking chemicals on both adults and our unborn potential offspring. Thank you for taking this pro-active stance.
David Resseguie
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
David ResSeguie
Information Services Manager
Sundance Natural Foods

Dear M. Resseguie:
Thank you for contacting Muir Glen regarding our upcoming packaging change.

We would like to be able to answer all the questions we receive; however, the information you have requested is proprietary.

We appreciate your interest.
Sincerely,
Harry Kendall
Consumer Services

if it's not BPA, what is it?

General Mills, the current owner of Organic canned food manufacturer, Muir Glen, has announced that it has found an alternative to BPA to line its tomato product cans. The new can linings will debut in the fall, with the canning of the next harvest of tomatoes. Though the press reports what's NOT in the new can linings, we are given no information on what IS in them.

general-mills-pull-bpa-organic-tomato-cans

With so many nails in the coffin, why isn't it dead yet?

Testimony of Environmental Working Group's Richard Wiles before the General Assembly of Pennsylvania regarding BPA in children's products.

Sundance Develops Strategy For Minimizing Toxic Receipts

There are no really easy solutions to the cash register receipt problem. Purchase receipts are useful: they help people catch errors, the provide a record of the transaction for the customer, they serve as proof for a retailer that a customer actually purchased a product.

But paper receipts are not the only recourse to serving these valuable functions. Electronic records are available to the retailer, customers can view the transaction on a large customer display, and most customers do not want nor need their receipts especially for simple, small purchases.

So, my store, Sundance Natural Foods, is adopting a three prong strategy to minimize the environmental toxic load of our receipt production:

1) make printing the receipt an option, as requested by the customer - we have just implemented this part of our strategy. The only seeming downside is that EBT customers do not have easy access to their account balances. This has not been a big problem, as we can query that info by other means. Our cashiers were concerned that having to press two more buttons to print a receipt would "slow things down." They have discovered that not having to wait for the automatic receipt printing to be completed before the sale can "cash out" more than makes up for any slowdown from manual receipt printing. And, as we suspected, if we don't print them, most customers are relieved not to get them anyway.

2) requesting our Point-of-Service software vendor to implement an electronic receipt option, where customers who swipe a debit or credit card can choose to have an electronic version of their receipt emailed to a repository of their choice. This seems to still be in the "vaporware" stage of development. :P Stay tuned!

3) I am buying and will install an old-style receipt printer that uses impact print head and a ribbon to deliver ink to regular, non-thermal, non-chemical impregnated paper. Hopefully, it will get minimal use, as, some of you may remember, the "impact" printers are both much slower than thermal printers (6 lines per second as opposed to 25-50 lines per second) and much noisier.

I have been referring to this as our "back-to-the-future" receipt strategy.

My response to the Weekly Ad

Maybe the Eugene Weekly will publish this reponse. We shall see. The ad/letter to the Weekly was signed by "Stephen K. Schwartz, PResident, CEO," unlike the press release. Anyway, here's my response:

It seems likely that the full page ad taken out by the RiteMade company is designed to assure the public that BPA in cash register receipts and other thermal paper is nothing to worry about. However, the misstatements of fact in the ad make me quite doubtful of that the assertion of “nothing to worry about” is valid.

Contrary to assertions made by RiteMade, neither Health Canada nor the FDA have come to any final conclusions on the safety of BPA. How do I know this? Because Health Canada (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/packag-emball/bpa/bpa_ann-eng.php), in conjunction with the World Health Organization and the FDA, are currently organizing a meeting to be held in Ottawa on the 2^nd through 5^th of November 2010 “to review toxicological and health aspects of Bisphenol A.” (http://www.who.int/foodsafety/chem/chemicals/bisphenol/en/index.html) Why are Health Canada, the FDA and WHO having this meeting? The meeting’s web page says that “It is notable that the effects in some of the research studies were described at dose levels several orders of magnitude below those at which effects were reported in the standard guideline (regulatory) studies.” That statement, in plain English, reads “This chemical may have very large effects at very small doses.

Also, despite the vote of the California Toxicant Committee (CDRTIC) against the listing of BPA as a toxic chemical, as mentioned in the ad, the State of California is very likely to add BPA to their Proposition 65 list of toxic chemicals very soon anyway. That is because there are three other ways for a substance to get on the list, most notably, if another authoritative body determines that the substance is toxic. In this case, that authoritative body is the National Toxicology Program’s Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (NTP-CERHR) The NTP is a branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Their conclusion in a September 2008 monograph was that “NTP has some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A.” “Some concern” is, by the way, less serious than “concern” and “serious concern.”

Another assertion from the RiteMade ad is that they are “unaware of any instance of a health related issue” regarding thermal paper. That may be because they failed to read the study (1500 subjects in the USA, tested twice in the period 2003-2006) that correlates BPA concentration in human bodily tissues directly with higher incidence of heart disease in these populations. (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.00086730)

Ritemade’s concluding argument that there is no practical difference between BPA and BPS may very well be true. However, even here, the actual science done on this question is quite mixed, with some researchers finding nearly identical hormone-mimicking activity in BPA and BPS, while others find BPA to be more potent.

The letter from Mr. Schwartz at RiteMade is not a news article, nor is it scholarly or scientific research. It is persuasive rhetoric designed to convince the public to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

So, there's my response. Most of the web docs I refer to in it are posted elsewhere on the blog as well, but I may have listed a few new ones.

Full Page Ad in The Eugene Weekly

The April 29th , 2010 Eugene Weekly featured an inside front cover full page ad from the RiteMade Company, a "converter" and reseller of thermal receipt paper. Since the advertising content of the Weekly is not posted on their web site, I will post the letter on the company's web site that is almost identical. You will note that it has many similarities to the post below that was forwarded to me by the Lane Community College Food Services Manager. There are enough differences that I will post this letter in its entirety, as my next post is a point by point commentary and general refutation of the ad/letter:

THERMAL RECEIPTS AND THE BPA ISSUE
Kansas City, Kansas, USA Recently there has been quite a bit of “chatter” in the media alluding to potential concerns about handling thermal receipt paper made using BPA (Bisphenol- A). Based on extensive research conducted by governmental authorities and industry experts, the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and Health Canada have concluded that BPA does not pose any direct health hazards in humans. In fact, the California Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee voted unanimously not to list BPA on the state’s list of toxic chemicals under Proposition 65. At RiteMade Paper Converters, Inc., we have posted statements summarizing a number of these findings and studies including the aforementioned statement issued by the FDA in February 2009 on our website, www.ritemade.com.
Many long term RiteMade employees have been working with thermal paper for more than 20 years. We are unaware of any instance of a health related issue or even an allergic reaction to thermal paper since we first started converting thermal fax paper in the late 1980’s. It is also worth noting that we have not received any reports of health related issues by any of the thousands of workers at the mills that produce thermal base paper during this time. We firmly believe that thermal paper is safe.
A related question has been: “Is there any thermal paper available that is not made using BPA?” To the best of our knowledge, all thermal paper at this time is made using either BPA (Bisphenol- A) or BPS (Bisphenol-S). BPA has received a lot of attention because of its use in making plastics used for bottled water, baby bottles and food can liners. BPS has received almost no attention because it is used mostly for making anti-corrosives, photography and tanning chemicals and epoxy glue agents.
As we understand it, what has created all the chatter is the chemical composition of BPA which is fairly similar to that of synthetic estrogen. While ingestion or handling of synthetic estrogen has been linked to certain health issues, numerous scientific studies have shown no direct links to BPA. Moreover, in terms of estrogen activity, a study conducted by researchers at the Laboratory of Microbiology and Host Defenses and the Institute for Environmental Sciences at a major Japanese university concluded that BPA and BPS were “comparable” in this regard. Based on this conclusion, as a practical matter, there is no difference between thermal paper made using BPA and BPS.
For more information, contact:
Chad Snoddy Manager Marketing and Sales Support
Phone: 913-621-5000
2600 Bi-State Drive Kansas City, KS 66103
www.ritemade.com

BPS = BPA, more or less

Yes, it turns out that most or ALL thermal paper uses SOME form of bisphenol compound as the developer. Sigh...

Here is my rather lengthy correspondence with an Appleton executive about the topic of BPS and its use in Appleton's "BPA-free" thermal paper. I put the correspondence here in its entirety, though I realize this might be a bit dreary, as I wish for both my public stance on this issue and that of the Appleton executive to be "straight from the horse's mouth."

From: David ResSeguie
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 12:48 PM

To: Ebben, Sara

Subject: Re: Appleton - The Responsible Choice

Dear Sarah,
I would like to report that we have had success in sourcing BPA-free receipt paper through various suppliers. However, a recent letter forwarded to me from an executive of the National Checking Company has caused me some concern. This person, Ben Olk (who signs his letters "President" of National Checking) claims that ALL thermal paper uses either BPA or BPS as its developing agent.
"All thermal paper contains some form of bisphenols (BPA or BPS)," he says.
I would like to know from you if this is a true statement. That is, does all thermal paper contain some bisphenol compound as its color developing agent?
If Appleton uses another method, it would be helpful if you could explain it to me as clearly as possible. I am not, of course, asking that you reveal any trade secrets to me, but a full disclosure of the chemicals used in making your thermal paper would go a long way to assuage concerns that I and other people following this issue may have.
Thanking you in advance for your time and efforts,
I am,
Yours Sincerely,
David Resseguie
________________________________________________________
From: Hillend, James

Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 9:13 AM

To: David ResSeguie
Cc: Ebben, Sara; Howarth, Doug; Van Den Brandt, Bill

Subject: Appleton - Responsible Choice

Dear David:
Sara Ebben forwarded your request to me.
Appleton uses a variety of chemicals to produce our thermal products, including members of the diphenyl sulfone family. This includes Bisphenol S , but not Bisphenol A, F, or any other letter. While all are bis phenols (meaning that they have 2 phenol groups) they are in many cases very different chemicals. The letter is the chemist's short hand to designate a different chemical functional group. It’s kind of like comparing methanol (wood alcohol - can destroy your optic nerve) to ethanol (stuff we can drink). While they are both alcohols, they behave very differently.

Other items that might help with the discussion on the comparison between BPA and BPS:


1.We are not aware of any regulatory body currently investigating the safety of any chemical in the diphenyl sulfone family.

2. While some in the industry have taken a position that BPS is the equivalent of BPA, what we know is that the FDA and the EPA have named BPA as being a “concern” and some senators have taken steps to introduce legislation banning BPA. No such announcements or actions regarding BPS have occurred.

3. Appleton has been watching the science and safety aspects for all of the chemicals that we use to produce our products.

4.We voluntarily removed BPA from our product formulas several years ago when concern about BPA began to grow

5.We are comfortable today with our choice of chemicals

6.We will continue to monitor the science and are committed to actively managing the safety of all of our products.

We have attached additional information that might be useful as you make purchasing decisions about the performance and safety of POS receipt papers.
Let us know if you have questions or if you require additional information


Jamie Hillend
________________________________________________________
From: David ResSeguie
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 5:19 PM

To: Hillend, James

Cc: Ebben, Sara

Subject: The Science on BPA and BPS

Dear Mr. Hillend,

It is of little concern to me whether "any regulatory body [is] currently investigating" the safety of a particular chemical. Regulatory agencies are notoriously overworked and understaffed, and generally only respond to issues brought to them by businesses, scientists, and consumers.
Of much greater concern to me are scientific studies of estrogenic activity of various phenol compounds which characterize BPS as "[showing] comparable estrogenic activity with BPA."
Other studies listed on NIH sites include one which finds that BPS shows the LEAST tendency to break down in seawater of any of the bishenols tested.
Another study tested the estrogenic activity of a host of bisphenol compounds, and notes in its abstract that "Among the tested BPs, two compounds, i.e., bisphenol-S (bis(4-hydroxydiphenyl)sulfone) and bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfide, have never been reported for their estrogenic activity previously."
What we find depends a great deal on where we look. Me, personally, I am going to start looking for alternatives to using thermal paper in ANY context.
I must also express my disappointment at being misled in my search for safe alternatives to paper coated with BPA. As my business's technology liaison, I feel responsible for ensuring that my employees are not being exposed to unnecessary and unwarranted hazards in the workplace. Furthermore, as many of my cashiers are women of child-bearing age, it is highly distressing to think they might be bioaccumulating toxins which could affect any children they might bear.
Yours Sincerely,
David Resseguie
________________________________________________________
From: jhillend@appletonideas.com
Subject: RE: The Science on BPA and BPS
Date: April 30, 2010 04:05:09 PM PDT
To: Sundance General Email
Cc: Sara Ebben sebben@appletonideas.com

Dear David:

We are sorry for any impression that we were trying to mislead you on issues related to BPA and alternatives. This was certainly not our intent.
We too have been watching the science on this subject and have experienced frustration with the lack of agreement on the relative safety of diphenyl sulfone compounds and access to peer reviewed data. We have seen the referenced data below as well as other data that ranges in opinion from its “comparable to BPA” to its shows no activity. The same can be found in regards to bioaccumulation where BPA seems to have a high potential and BPS has little or no level (BPA is not water soluble as described in the Japanese study on degradation). Again, it depends upon the study. There are over 200 peer reviewed studies on BPA, less than 10 studies on BPS (not all peer reviewed).
Appleton too is concerned about the health and safety of our employees and customers. We proactively removed BPA many years ago when the data suggested an issue. We continue to watch this issue and are committed to providing the safest products to market. At this time, we are comfortable with our choice of chemicals. We have also been invited to join the EPA’s design for the Environment program, with the objective to find safer alternatives to BPA.
In the spirit of open collaboration, we have included our internal findings including peer reviewed data.
We respect your conclusion and stand ready to offer assistance on helping you find non thermal alternatives, be it bond and ink, carbonless or non paper.
Please again accept our apologies. If you have any questions or if we can help further, please don’t hesitate to contact me
Regards / Jamie Hillend
James R. Hillend
Executive Director, POS Business
Appleton
825 E. Wisconsin Ave
P.O. Box 359
Appleton, WI 54912-0359
Telephone: (920) 991-7382
Fax: (920) 991-7023
email: jhillend@appletonideas.com
www.appletonideas.com

Just as I was about to concede...

Just as I was about to concede, based on a review of the literature, that BPA was only really bad for developing fetuses, along comes this study:

bpa-linked-to-heart-disease-diabetes

here's a link to the details of the study

Thanks to Ron Leppert, Sundance's Grocery Buyer, for forwarding this one to me.

Receipts in our Local News

Featuring quotes from Lisa Arkin of the Oregon Toxics Alliance, John C. Warner, chemist and co-founder of the Babcock-Warner Institute for Green Chemistry, and from your local neighborhood blogger, me.

Toxic Receipts

and in our town's daily paper, advice from local MDs, MICHAEL ROIZEN AND MEHMET OZ:

Help the environment, and help your body, too

Here's a disturbing piece of mail

This letter was forwarded to me by the Food Service Manager of a local educational institution. It seems to be from the president of a cash register receipt paper supply company, and implies that all thermal receipt paper is equally safe. Or, if you are one of those people who think that free bisphenol compounds in the environment are not safe, it implies that all thermal receipt paper is equally unsafe. Read on:

Ben Olk III 4/23/2010 1:08 PM >>>

My Director of Production asked that I contact you regarding the question of BPA in thermal paper. There have been several media reports describing the presence of BPA in “receipt paper” in order to address this, what follows is some background information about the issues and how NCCO is addressing them.

• Bisphenols’ function in thermal paper. All thermal paper contains some form of bisphenols (BPA or BPS). What makes thermal paper unique is the coating that is applied to the paper, which, when heated in a specific pattern, generates the image that we see. The coating is made up of a dye, a weak acid and a modifier. The BPA/BPS is the weak acid that reacts with the dye to create the image. It is important to note that the bisphenols in thermal paper are used in exponentially smaller concentrations than when used in polycarbonate plastics (i.e. baby bottles) or metals (i.e. beverage cans) to make the plastic rigid or to seal the metal on a can.

• BPA Studies. While there has been a lot in the news recently about the harmful nature of BPA, the scientific evidence is mixed and the testing agencies around the world are contradictory in their recommendations. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued warnings about BPA, but they have been careful to limit their warnings to polycarbonate plastic baby bottles that have been heated. The European Union Food Safety Authority has reviewed several studies regarding the toxicity of BPA, but found the evidence to be incomplete and inconclusive (www.efsa.europa.eu). The FDA has also examined the issue several times and has been very careful about their assessment (www.fda.gov/NewsEvents). The primary focus of their review has been on polycarbonate plastic bottles, where the concentration of BPA and the likelihood of ingestion are significantly higher than thermal paper. In their report, they do not draw any conclusions, but suggest that further investigations be done. Further, several studies have already been conducted by the manufacturer to assess potential health impacts of their paper. In each of these studies, the findings are conclusive: Exposure to thermal paper with bisphenol A caused no harm to any of the subjects in the tests. If you are interested, I can send the results of those tests as well.

• BPA or BPS. As mentioned above, thermal paper either contains BPA or BPS. While the focus in today’s media is on the potentially harmful impact of BPA in plastic bottles, the two compounds are nearly identical, and there are concerns in some corners of the scientific community that BPS in plastic or metal would yield results similar to that of BPA. National Checking Company has, therefore, made a conscious determination to not allow the presence of BPA or BPS to impact our purchasing decision. The fact that both are used in such small percentages in thermal paper makes us confident that the presence of BPA or BPS has no negative impact on the health or safety of human beings.

Please know that we have been aware of this issue for several years and are confident that our products are safe. We have been in business for more than 100 years, and I would not jeopardize our reputation if I felt that the users of our products or our employees were at risk in any way. We are proud to be associated with all our suppliers, our distributors, and our end-user customers.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions, concerns or objections. Take good care!

Ben

Ben Olk
President
National Checking Company
www.nationalchecking.com
651-251-1531

My Congressman Thinks There's Something Up

From: Congressman Peter DeFazio
Subject: Reply from Congressman Peter DeFazio
Date: April 28, 2010 10:34:40 AM PDT
To: Sundance General Email
Dear Mr. ResSeguie:

Thank you for your recent message concerning H.R. 6228, the Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2008. I appreciate hearing from you. We are in complete agreement.

As you may know this bill would ban the toxic substance Bisphenol A from all food and beverage containers. Bisphenol A is an additive used in polycarbonate plastic products which is found in everything from baby bottles to DVD's to many popular canned foods and sodas. Recent studies by the US Centers for Disease Control showed that over 93 percent of people aged 6 and over have traces of Bisphenol A in their blood. There have also been recent reports of studies showing a connection between Bisphenol A and breast and prostate cancer, miscarriages and brain damage. Of particular concern is infants who use baby bottles that use Bisphenol A, as we are still uncertain of how a quickly a child can metabolize the chemical.

While the Bush Administrations recently announced that the chemical was safe, we now find out that the studies they used to determine this were sponsored by the plastics industry and have been roundly criticized for its flawed methodology. Furthermore legislation to ban BPA has been introduced in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Also, some retailers like Wal Mart and Toys R Us have announced they will phase out selling baby bottles using Bisphenol A.

I myself recently threw away all my water bottles containing Bisphenol A and bought safer alternatives which are available at a comparable price.

When Congress reconvenes in September, I will add myself as a cosponsor to this legislation. Thanks again for contacting me and please keep in touch.

Bispehols in Seawater

Another bit of primary research from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health:

Biodegradation of Bisphenol A, Bisphenol F and Bisphenol S in Seawater

Tangled Webs

This abstract mentions another bisphenol, "Bisphenol-S," which also has estrogenic effects, and which one of my sources (not yet corroborated) says is an alternate chemical used in cash register receipts. If there is a problem with Bisphenol-A, this article indicates that Bisphenol-S would have the same issues.

Abstract of Primary Research Article on Changes in the Effects of Various Estrogenic Phenol Compounds Subjected To Municipal Chlorine

BPA in the news - some valuable links

These are links to articles from the mainstream science news weekly Science News:

Concerned_about_BPA_Check_your_receipts

Science_the_Public_BPA_in_the_womb_shows_link_to_kids_behavior

Science_the_Public__BPA_On_the_way_out_Sort_of

Concerns_over_bisphenol_a_continue_to_grow

These articles, I will point out, are more in the realm of "wisping" guns, rather than smoking guns. They indicate a potential problem, but really the article on "BPA in the womb shows link to kids behavior" is a report on a single study. It indicates that "we-have-a-problem-Houston," but does not nail down the culprit. However, the post directly above has links to some primary research articles that corroborate BPA as a endocrine disruptor.

Is it safe?

Our desire to make life convenient and to surround ourselves with useful objects sometimes conflicts with what is safe, healthy and life-enhancing. This blog explores one of those conflicts.

Russian chemist A.P. Dianin first synthesized Bisphenol-A and other phenol-derived compounds in the 1890s. It has been suspected since the 1930s that this class of bisphenols (bi- means two, hence two phenols linked by and with other compounds are called bisphenols) may have a negative effect on human and animal health, but the great usefulness of these compounds has encouraged many to ignore this issue.

Bisphenol-A and related compounds are used primarily to make hard plastic, secondarily to make epoxy (glue) resins, and are also used as a coating for many food containers and a developer for the "inks" in thermal paper.

The purpose of this blog is to collate and help disseminate factual and inferential information on bisphenol compounds in our environment, what the health effects of them on humans and other animals are, and, if it is warranted, how to avoid exposure to these chemicals, and what alternatives to using them exist especially in the realms of food container linings, and thermal paper developer chemicals.

Ku - I Ching Hexagram #18

WORK ON WHAT HAS BEEN SPOILED
Has supreme success.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
Before the starting point, three days.
After the starting point, three days.

What has been spoiled through human fault can be made good again through work. It is not immutable fate, that has caused the state of corruption, but rather the abuse of human freedom.
Work toward improving conditions promises well, because it accords the possibilities of the time. We must not recoil from work and danger-symbolized by crossing of the great water-but must take hold energetically. Success depends, however, on proper deliberation.