Readers of this blog will know that the hormone disruptor (or endocrine disruptor) bisphenol-A (BPA) is found in polycarbonate plastic bottles, the epoxy linings of food cans, and as a coating on ATM and cash-register receipts. You may ask, “What are companies doing to eliminate BPA from their products?” The skeptical-minded would suspect that the answer is “As little as possible,” or “Not much.” Nevertheless, there is a little good news.
First the good news. Tough, clear water bottles formerly made of polycarbonate plastic, which contains BPA, are being replaced by a different tough, clear plastic – Tritan™ – a copolyester containing no BPA. These bottles will be marked “BPA Free” and carry the plastic code number 7 which is the same code number for polycarbonate, and nylon and miscellaneous plastics. A bit confusing, but simply look for the “BPA-Free” stamp.
Now the other “not good” news. BPA is still found in the epoxy linings of food cans, and its brother has replaced it on paper receipts. Although BPA has been eliminated from the paper of many ATM and cash register receipts – and they may be called “BPA Free” – this is a misleading label. Of course, your receipts will not contain any such information, but if you inquire of the store management, they may state that they are using “BPA-Free” thermal paper receipts. What’s happened is that the manufacturers of thermal papers have switched from BPA to its brother, Bisphenol-S (BPS). Whereas BPA contains a three-carbon group linking two phenol molecules, BPS contains a sulfone (sulfur connected to two oxygen atoms) group which link the two phenol groups.
The question is: Is BPS safe? Scientists at the University of Texas studied this issue and found that it also mimics hormone activity, as BPA does. The January 17, 2013 issue of Environmental Health News reported on this issue. Their report stated that rat cells exposed to levels of BPS within the range people are exposed to caused interference with natural hormones, just like BPA. Couple this with the fact that a study reported in Environmental Science and Technology (May 16, 2012) that in 111 thermal papers tested, BPS was found in amounts similar to the amounts of BPA previously found in thermal papers.
The Bottom Line is, buy “BPA-Free” bottles and continue to avoid handling thermal paper receipts.
thank you, you have gained a new fan, these texts you post here are very useful to me. lista de email lista de email lista de email lista de email lista de email
Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I to find It really useful & it helped me out much. I am hoping to provide one thing again and help others such as you helped me.
Their findings may explain why the levels of BPA in the general population are higher than they theoretically should be from food and drink sources. Zalko said the findings suggest it “would be smart” for people, especially pregnant women, to avoid touching thermal papers used in receipts or to wash their hands after handling them.
Yes. BPA, pesticides, flame retardans, phthalates, PFOA, etc. are especially harmful for the fetus of pregnant women.
Hi there, I do believe your site could be having internet browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in Internet Explorer, it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Aside from that, excellent site!
Internet Explorer typically has more issues than other browsers. I fully recommend FIREFOX, by Mozillz.