Bisphenol A (BPA), a controversial chemical many scientists say contributes to a variety of health problems, has been used for years to harden plastics, like the plastic used in many baby bottles. You've probably heard the outcry among parents and seen the shift to "non-BPA" plastic bottles, glass bottles, stainless steel bottles and the like.
Now scientists say that either BPA is not eliminated from the body as quickly as its defenders have always claimed, or we are all exposed to much more of it than previously supposed. Researchers tested subjects by having them fast for various lengths of time and found that the BPA in participants' urine changed little from those who had recently eaten to those who had fasted for several hours.
Scientists speculate that tap water, house dust, and other sources may be causing a more constant level of exposure to the chemical. It is also possible that BPA lingers in the body long after exposure. It is, of course, most disturbingly possible that both are true.
This is a big problem because when the FDA ruled last year (to great protest from the scientific community) that BPA is safe enough not to ban, it based its conclusion on the idea that humans are exposed to only a tiny amount of BPA--far lower than lab animal testing suggested might be problematic. Now it looks like we are exposed to quite a bit more of it--or it builds up in our bodies--than we knew. It could be that a BPA pile-up in our bodies could reach those more dangerous levels.
As soon as I learned about BPA, I switched out my plastic baby bottles to glass, my plastic sippy cups to stainless steel, my plastic food containers to glass and I tossed all toys my kids chewed on that might contain it. But as a working mom with two small children and a mountain of laundry, house dust is far from my control, however fruitlessly I attempt to combat it. Here's hoping researchers find the answers about BPA soon, and do something to protect those of us with out of control dust bunnies.
For more on how we manage to accidentally poison our children, see:
Trace Mercury Found in High-Fructose Corn Syrup
Peanut Corporation of America Knowingly Sold Tainted Food
Peanut Allergies, Peanut Schmallergies?
Web Index of Recalled Peanut Butter Products
What Will Tainted Peanut Butter Really Do to Our Kids?
Peanut Butter Recall Expanded
Peanut Allergy Scare Overblown?
