Are Bisphenol A (BPA) Plastic Products Safe for Infants and Children?

By Diana Zuckerman, PhD, Paul Brown and Laura Walls.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make plastics, and is frequently used to make baby bottles, water bottles, sports equipment, medical devices, and as a coating in food and beverage cans. It leaches out of plastic into liquids and foods, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found measurable amounts of BPA in the bodies of more than 90 percent of the U.S. population studied.¹

The highest estimated daily intakes of BPA occur in infants and children.² Many plastic baby bottles contain BPA, and BPA is more likely to leach out of plastic when its temperature is increased, as when one warms a baby bottle or warms up food in the microwave.³

Scientists are concerned about BPA's behavioral effects on fetuses, infants, and children at current exposure levels because it can effect the prostate gland, mammary gland, and lead to early puberty in girls.⁴ BPA mimics and interferes with the action of estrogen-an important reproduction and development regulator.⁵ Studies have also linked BPA to miscarriages, insulin resistance (a risk factor for Type II diabetes), and increased formation and growth of fat cells (which can lead to obesity).⁶

BPA experiments on rats linked the chemical to precancerous lesions in the prostate and mammary glands, and to early puberty in females at BPA dosages similar to human exposures, according to a recent draft report on BPA by the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program.⁷

The National Toxicology Program report recommends that more studies be conducted on BPA's health effects on humans, and the report states: "the possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed."⁸

Based on two chemical industry-funded studies, the Food and Drug Administration claims that BPA is safe.⁹ However, according to the publication of the American Chemical Society, the national professional association for chemists, 153 of government-funded BPA experiments on lab animals and tissues found adverse effects while only 14 did not.¹⁰

Canada recently announced that it intends to reduce BPA exposure in infants and newborns by banning BPA in baby bottles, setting stringent BPA migration standards in infant formula cans, and working with industry to develop alternative food packaging.¹¹ In the U.S., bills have been introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives to ban BPA in children's products.

Alternatives to BPA are available and manufacturers such as Playtex and Nalgene and retailers such as Wal-Mart have pledged to remove BPA from their products and stores by the end of this year.¹²

Is it possible that BPA is contributing to the obesity epidemic and diabetes epidemic among children and adults, and early puberty among seven and eight year old girls? Wouldn't it be ironic if the most popular water bottles for athletes contribute to obesity and diabetes? And how can you avoid BPA? BPA is found in polycarbonate (PC) plastics, which are typically clear and hard, marked with the recycle symbol "7" or may contain the letters "PC" near the recycle symbol. To avoid the risks of baby bottles with BPA or other questionable chemicals, parents should consider alternatives such as glass bottles. And, to avoid warming up food in plastic containers with these chemicals, use dishes and glass containers in your microwave.

References:

1 Hileman, B., (2007, April). Bisphenol A on Trial, Chemical & Engineering News Government & Policy, Vol. 85, Number 16. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/85/8516gov2.html.

2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), (2008, April 14). National Toxicology Program, "Draft NTP Brief on Bisphenol A," at http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/BPADraftBriefVF_04_14_08.pdf.

3 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), (2008, April 14). National Toxicology Program, "Draft NTP Brief on Bisphenol A," at http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/BPADraftBriefVF_04_14_08.pdf.

4 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), (2008, April 14). National Toxicology Program, "Draft NTP Brief on Bisphenol A," at http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/BPADraftBriefVF_04_14_08.pdf.

5 Schierow, L., Lister, S.A., (2008, May). Bisphenol A (BPA) in Plastics and Possible Human Health Effects, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, The Library of Congress.

6 Environmental Working Group, (2007, March). Bisphenol A: Toxic Plastics Chemical in Canned Food, at http://www.ewg.org/book/export/html/20928.

7 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Toxicology Program, "Draft NTP Brief on Bisphenol A," April 14, 2008, at http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/BPADraftBriefVF_04_14_08.pdf, visited June 11, 2008.

8 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), (2008, April 14). National Toxicology Program, "Draft NTP Brief on Bisphenol A," at http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/BPADraftBriefVF_04_14_08.pdf.

9 Schierow, L., Lister, S.A., (2008, May). Bisphenol A (BPA) in Plastics and Possible Human Health Effects, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, The Library of Congress.

10 Hileman, B., (2007, April). Bisphenol A on Trial, Chemical & Engineering News Government & Policy, Vol. 85, Number 16. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/85/8516gov2.html.

11 Health Canada, (April 18, 2008). Government of Canada Takes Action on Another Chemical of Concern: Bisphenol A, press release, at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/nr-cp/_2008/2008_59-eng.php, visited June 11, 2008.

12 Parker-Pope, T., (2008, April 22). A Hard Plastic is Raising Hard Questions, The New York Times.