BPA: What you need to know
We can all take steps to prevent usage of BPA plastics. Use our easy guide.
Why are people concerned about BPA?
BPA is concerning to many because of the health effects and because human exposure to BPA is so widespread.
BPA is an endocrine (hormone) disruptor. It can imitate the body's natural hormones and interfere with their function. BPA mimics the structure and function of the hormone estrogen. Due to its estrogen-like shape, BPA can bind to estrogen receptors and influence normal bodily processes. These include growth, cell repair, fetal development, and reproduction.
Studies have shown that infants born to mothers exposed to BPA weigh up to half a pound less, on average, than infants born to unexposed mothers. BPA exposure during early life may also influence hormonal development and behavior in children.
BPA exposure has been shown to cause:
- Impaired brain development
- ADHD and anxiety-related disorders
- Childhood weight gain and obesity.
Pregnant women, infants and young children face the greatest risk.
What is Bisphenol-A? Where is it found?
BPA is a chemical that serves as a key ingredient in polycarbonate plastic, making the plastic much more durable and strong.
It was first discovered in 1891 by a Russian chemist but not widely used until the 1950s, when chemists realized it could be mixed with other compounds to produce strong and resilient plastics. In 2015, an estimated four million tons of BPA-derived chemicals were produced, making it one of the highest produced chemicals worldwide.
Today, BPA plastic is commonly made into a variety of popular consumer items such as:
- Reusable water bottles
- Plastic food containers
- Baby bottles
- Sports equipment.
BPA is also used to create epoxy resins, used to line the inside canned food containers to prevent the metal from corroding. And that grittiness you feel when you rub a thermal paper sales receipt between your fingers? That's BPA.
BPA science in the news
Want more in-depth coverage of BPA in our environment? Our journalists make it their business to cover the latest science:
Investigation: How willful blindness keeps BPA on shelves and contaminating our bodies
Federal tests 'dramatically' undercount BPA and other chemical exposures
BPA and babies: Controversial chemical and substitutes pollute the womb
Video: Understanding endocrine disruptors
BPA substitutes linked to obesity in children and teens
In a scientific first, researchers gave people BPA — and saw a link to diabetes
Sign up for our FREE daily newsletter featuring the most consequential news on our environment and health, hand-selected by our editors – Above the Fold.
How does BPA enter the body?
The main source of BPA exposure is diet, particularly packaged and canned foods.
BPA containers can leach the chemical into your food or beverage, seeping into the container's contents before you ingest them. The degree to which BPA seeps into your food may depend more on the temperature of the container than the age - heat can break the containers down over time, allowing the chemical to be more easily released.
How You Can Act
BPA-free alternatives
On a personal level, you can protect yourself and your family in several simple ways.
- Avoid thermal paper receipts
- Turn to glass, porcelain, or stainless steel food storage containers and reduce use of plastic. Choose wax paper over plastic wrap. There is no such thing as microwave- or dishwasher-safe plastic: Repeated studies show heat leaches BPA from plastic.
- Seek out BPA-free cans, or adjust your diet to include more fresh foods.
- Subscribe to one of our newsletters to stay informed on the most up-to-date research and news. Subscribe here.
On a national level, take the time to reach out to government representatives to act for those that cannot and future generations.
Ask these questions...
- Why, if the FDA banned BPA in baby bottles in 2012, does the chemical remain in so many products today?
- Why are we not properly testing BPA and other chemicals that interfere with our hormones?
- Why allow the blood of most Americans to be tainted with chemicals tied to birth defects, obesity, diabetes, and reproductive problems?
... to these people:
- Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. and chair, House Committee on Energy & Commerce, frank.pallone@mail.house.gov
- Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. And chair, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
- Dr. Brett P. Giroir, acting commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, CommissionerFDA@fda.hhs.gov
- Your representative in Congress
Want to learn more about BPA?
EHN.org's year-long investigation into federal regulation of bisphenol-A exposure found a willful blindness to contemporary science.
This ignored science shows grave concern for our health and reproductive systems at exposures we likely all face.
It's time now to take steps to change this.
Read the full investigation here: www.ehn.org/exposed
Check out our continuing coverage of BPA news here: https://www.ehn.org/bpa/
Sign up for our FREE daily newsletter featuring the most consequential news on our environment and health, hand-selected by our editors – Above the Fold.
Childhood cancer survivors are more likely to end up in the hospital from air pollution
Survivors of childhood and adolescent cancers are significantly more likely to wind up in the hospital with respiratory problems on bad air days than members of the general population, according to a new study.
The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, is the first to examine the connection between air pollution and respiratory hospitalizations among childhood cancer survivors and suggests that cancer survivors' weakened immune systems may leave them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution.
"I was very surprised to see how vulnerable childhood cancer survivors are compared to the general population," Dr. Judy Ou, a cancer epidemiologist at the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute and lead author of the study, told EHN.
"This is meaningful from a regulatory perspective because no one has ever thought about cancer survivors as a population that's vulnerable to air pollution before."
One in every 530 American adults ages 20-39 is now a childhood cancer survivor due to both an increase in childhood cancer and improved survival rates. But current air pollution regulations don't include cancer survivors as members of "sensitive groups" like children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing heart and respiratory conditions, all of whom are advised to take extra precautions to reduce their exposure on bad air days.
Ou and her colleagues looked at medical records for nearly 4,000 childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors diagnosed or treated in Utah between 1986 and 2012. They found that childhood cancer survivors were much more likely to end up in the hospital with respiratory illnesses like infections, obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, or asthma on days with high levels of particulate matter pollution—tiny, airborne particles of chemicals that, when inhaled, can cause heart and respiratory problems, and heightened cancer risk.
Weakened immune systems
Photo by Marcelo Leal on Unsplash
The researchers found that cancer survivors who didn't undergo chemotherapy see about the same level risk as the general public, but childhood cancer survivors who received chemotherapy are nearly twice as likely as the general population to be hospitalized with respiratory illnesses after exposure to particulate matter pollution on a bad air day.
They don't know why these cancer survivors are more likely to get sick from air pollution, but Ou and Hanson speculate it could be the result of a weakened immune system due to both their illness and the side effects of chemotherapy.
"Chemotherapy is a very powerful killer of cancer cells, but it also kills white blood cells and weakens the body's immune system," Dr. Heidi A. Hanson, co-author of the study, told EHN. "It has been shown that those who receive chemotherapy face increased risk for a variety of infections during and after treatment."
The EPA's maximum safety threshold for particulate matter pollution over a 24-hour period is 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air (mg/cm). But previous research has shown that members of sensitive groups, including elderly people across the U.S., still experience significant health effects at less than 25 mg/cm of particulate matter pollution. The researchers observed a similar trend among cancer survivors.
"Our research suggests cancer survivors are sensitive enough to this kind of pollution that they may need to be careful on days that are considered 'moderate' air days, which usually means between 12 and 25 micrograms per cubic meter of particulate matter pollution in a 24-hour period," Ou said.
"There's always a cost when it comes to air pollution"
Charlein Gracia on Unsplash/Connor Mulvaney for EHN
The study's findings are especially relevant for Pittsburgh, which ranks 7th worst in the nation for year-round levels of particulate matter, has elevated rates of the types of cancer associated with air pollution, and is in the top 2 percent of U.S. counties for cancer risk caused by air pollution.
The Allegheny County Health Department—the county which encompasses Pittsburgh—issues regular warnings about high levels of particulate matter pollution that may impact sensitive groups.
However, the Health Department recently issued a press release stating that thanks to "more aggressive enforcement" of the Clean Air Act, annual particulate matter levels at the air monitor closest to the Clairton Coke Works, one of the region's worst industrial polluters, dropped from 36.5 mg/cm to 28 mg/cm last year.
According to Ou's study, that level of pollution still poses a serious risk to childhood cancer survivors in the region.
Children are already considered a uniquely sensitive group when it comes to the health effects of air pollution. Adult survivors of childhood cancer who've undergone chemo face increased risk of respiratory illness from air pollution, but survivors who are still kids are the most vulnerable.
"Kids breathe about four times as much air as adults," Dr. Philip Landrigan, pediatrician, epidemiologist and director of the Global Public Health Program and the Global Observatory on Pollution and Health at Boston College, told EHN. "So they have proportionately more of these substances in their bodies."
When possible, Hanson said, young cancer survivors should avoid outdoor activities and consider wearing a mask, and parents should closely monitor their respiratory health on days with poor or moderate air quality.
"We need to think about the quality of the environment that kids who survive cancer are exposed to after they're done with treatment," Ou said.
"Expecting childhood cancer survivors to go home to same unhealthy environments that may have contributed to their illness doesn't seem fair," she added, "and it doesn't make sense from a public health perspective."
Next, Ou and her colleagues hope to conduct a larger study outside of Utah to determine if the trend they observed is consistent across populations with different demographics, and in regions with different types of pollutants contributing to particulate matter levels.
In the meantime, though, they believe there's enough evidence for policymakers to take action.
"Some people oppose strengthening air pollution laws because it will cost industries money," Ou said. "But if industries, governments, or other parties don't spend money up front to reduce pollution, the cost doesn't disappear—it gets shifted into healthcare spending of the general public and members of sensitive groups like cancer survivors."
"There's always a cost when it comes to air pollution," she added, "the difference is just in who's paying for it."
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story stated that Allegheny County is in the top 3 percent of U.S. counties for cancer from air toxics. It is actually in the top 2 percent, according to the 2013 Pittsburgh Regional Environmental Threat Analysis.
Residents shout down oil and gas execs over fracking at US Steel mill
Approximately 200 residents jammed into the rowdy meeting, held in a fire hall bedecked with electronic bingo boards and folding chairs. Dozens lined up at a microphone to tell representatives from U.S. Steel, Merrion Oil and Gas, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection exactly what they thought of the fracking plan.
"We've been dealing with U.S. Steel's poor environmental record here for 150 years," one resident said, pointing his finger at the oil and gas executives. "We have had enough. You keep saying you want to respect our community. If you really want to respect our community, keep moving. Go somewhere else. We don't want you here."
Braddock community meeting on fracking at the Edgar Thomson millKristina Marusic/EHN
Under the plan, New Mexico-based Merrion would drill an unconventional horizontal well, or a "fracking" well, on part of U.S. Steel's property to provide the facility with natural gas.
Fracking, another name for hydraulic fracturing, is a process of extracting oil and gas by drilling deep wells and injecting liquid at high pressure. The practice has been linked with a range of health effects including skin, genital, and urinary issues, low birth weights, asthma, and depression. It has been banned by New York, Vermont, and Maryland, along with a growing number of U.S. counties and foreign countries like France, Germany and Ireland.
Densely populated, urban neighborhoods in Allegheny County surround the proposed well sites. The drilling infrastructure would primarily be located in North Versailles Township, but would also extend to East Pittsburgh and North Braddock.
Those communities include designated "Environmental Justice Areas," or census tracts where 20 percent or more individuals live in poverty, and/or 30 percent or more of the population is minority. Several of the residents who spoke pointed out that the racial makeup of the mostly-white panel did not mirror the racial makeup of the community members in the room, about a quarter of whom were people of color.
The representative from the Office of Environmental Justice, tasked with keeping the discourse civil during the meeting, noted that while the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has environmental justice policies in place, they're a bit of a "moving target:" The policies are not enforceable laws.
Braddock community meeting on fracking at the Edgar Thomson millKristina Marusic/EHN
Braddock community meeting on fracking at the Edgar Thomson millKristina Marusic/EHN
Merrion operates many conventional wells throughout the country, but this is the first unconventional or fracking well the company has ever proposed to drill, and their first well of any type in Pennsylvania, which has a unique topography.
Ryan Merrion, the great grandson of the founder of Merrion Oil and Gas, was in attendance. He and the other representatives from Merrion, U.S. Steel, and the Department of Environmental Protection wore suits and sat at long tables before microphones at the front of the room. Public attendees were asked to leave all protest signs outside the building. So instead many members of the audience wore black face masks with white lettering bearing messages like "Frack no" and "not for shale" or T-shirts reading "Our health vs. their wealth" and "Don't frack the E.T. Mill."
Heckling from the audience was frequent throughout a brief PowerPoint presentation from Merrion spokesperson Ryan Davis, which included statements about being a family company that prioritizes safety above all else, a slide emphasizing Merion's experience operating fracking wells in other urban areas, and a review of the company's plans to mitigate perceived safety concerns (video below).
Braddock community meeting on fracking at the Edgar Thomson mill www.youtube.com
The first person to take the microphone asked, to thunderous applause, why the community wasn't given access to the projector and invited to give a PowerPoint presentation, as Merrion had been.
When a representative from the Office of Environmental Justice repeatedly stated that they would not "take sides," a community member responded, "You're the Department of Environmental Protection. You're supposed to be on the side of protecting the environment."
Many residents raised concerns about increased traffic on Route 30 after a Merrion representative stated that it would receive the increased truck traffic associated with fracking. Last year, a landslide caused a stretch of the highway to collapse, destroying an apartment building, and residents worried that the increase of heavy vehicle traffic could cause a similar event.
Braddock community meeting on fracking at the Edgar Thomson mill www.youtube.com
Merrion operations manager Ryan Davis stated that the increased truck traffic was temporary and would reach a high volume only during the initial drilling phase. DEP spokesperson Scott Perry stated that the agency is not evaluating erosion near the highway as part of their permit review for the project.
Residents also repeatedly questioned how the project would benefit the community and why they should accept it. Davis answered that legally required impact fees will be distributed to the state and paid out to impacted municipalities.
"It's not our job to ask whether a project is good or bad for a community," answered DEP spokesperson Scott Perry. "Fundamentally, from DEP's perspective, this is a land use issue."
Many community members clearly felt frustrated by Perry's response. One heckler demanded to know whose job it was to decide whether the project was good or bad for the community, and how they could talk to them.
Others raised concerns about increased air pollution, an ongoing problem in the Pittsburgh area, and cited the statistic that children in the region's most polluted neighborhoods have asthma rates more than double the national average.
The DEP spokesperson was quick to say that their agency doesn't regulate air quality in this region and they aren't taking it into consideration while reviewing the three permits they've received for the project. Air quality in the region is overseen by the Allegheny County Health Department, which was not represented at the meeting. Some permitting for the project may need to go through that agency, but those permits have not yet been filed.
Braddock community meeting on fracking at the Edgar Thomson millKristina Marusic/EHN
Rachel Priselac, a young mother in attendance said she's hoping to have a second child, but is afraid, knowing that she lives within two miles of the proposed wells and that research has shown infants born in close proximity to fracking operations have low birth weights.
"I can not eat lunch meat or sushi," she said. "I can do everything else you're supposed to do while you're pregnant. But what I can't do is pick up and move my family away from our home because you have chosen to drill here. 21,000 people live in this community. How many of those are children, or people who want to have children?"
Many audience members also stated that they don't trust U.S. Steel due to their long history of clean air regulation violations and their history of contention with union workers, and asked why they should expect this project to go any differently.
Braddock community meeting on fracking at the Edgar Thomson millKristina Marusic/EHN
"My dad worked for U.S. Steel his whole life," said resident Tony Buba. "When I was a kid, my family was eating surplus cheese and peanut butter when the union went on strike because U.S. Steel didn't want to pay workers what they deserved. So my dad helped get the workers today the good contracts they have, but one thing he told me was, 'Never trust U.S. Steel.'"
He added, "In this community, we have to fight for everything. We had to fight for two years to try and save [our only] hospital. We have to fight for kids to feel safe in school. We have to fight for public transit so people can even get to their jobs. We have to fight for police to get proper training so they don't continue to shoot our children in the back."
Last year an East Pittsburgh police officer shot unarmed 17-year-old Antwon Rose in Braddock. The shooter was acquitted last week, and protests erupted throughout the greater Pittsburgh region.
"Meanwhile, we're riddled with asthma and cancer from pollution," Buba added. "We're exhausted. But as you can tell here today, we still won't stop fighting."
