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.