Do you worry that harmful chemicals leach out of plastic containers into its contents? Are plastic containers toxic? Do you drink from plastic water bottles? Are you concerned about the safety of plastics?
Information circulating about the dangers of plastic containers has created fear and confusion.
Recently, I interacted in a live health chat on MedHelp about the safety of plastics. Scientist, Joe Schwarcz, Ph.D., Director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society talked about "The Real Truth About Plastics: What you should and shouldn't worry about."
While Dr. Schwarcz states that some plastics like Tupperware and Rubbermaid are safe to use, there are other plastics made of Bisphenol A (BPA) that may cause some concern, however he did not become alarmed.
There is extensive information on the safety of plastics, and reading some of it can easily cause panic and confusion, but the smartest step health consumers can do for themselves is to remain calm and don't become alarmed. Gather the facts and determine what's best for you.
The Facts About Bisphenol A (BPA)
Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to manufacture polycarbonate plastics. This type of plastic is used to make some types of beverage containers, compact disks, plastic dinnerware, impact-resistant safety equipment, automobile parts, and toys. BPA epoxy resins are used in the protective linings of food cans, in dental sealants, and in other products. General exposure to BPA at low levels comes from eating food or drinking water stored in containers that have BPA. Small children may be exposed by hand-to-mouth and direct oral (mouth) contact with materials containing BPA. Dental treatment with BPA-containing sealants also results in short-term exposure. In addition, workers who manufacture products that contain BPA can be exposed.
How Does BPA Get Into the Body?
BPA can leach into food from the epoxy resin lining of cans and from consumer products such as polycarbonate tableware, food storage containers, water bottles, and baby bottles. Additional traces of BPA can leach out of these products when they are heated at high temperatures.
During the Live Chat
An audience member during the live chat asked about the safety of plastics that contain chemicals that mimic estrogen that may result in developing breast, uterine or ovarian cancers; Dr. Schwarcz replied that these plastics contain BPA and phthalates and that they are estrogenic. He states, however that we are "exposed to estrogenic compounds all over the place. Soy contains isoflavones which are estrogenic, so do chickpeas, and of course milk! Natural estrogens in milk are thousands of time more potent estrogens than BPA."
Dr. Schwarcz writes about Bisphenol A in his blog Chemically Speaking:
The more bisphenol A is in the news, the more acrimonious and self-serving the debates seem to get. On one side we have some scientists stirring the pot with statements like: "The science is clear and the findings are not just scary, they are horrific. When you feed a baby out of a clear, hard plastic bottle, it's like giving the baby a birth control pill." This is absurd. The science isn't clear, it's quite murky. If it were all clear, we wouldn't be having such bitter debates.
On the other hand, the BPA defenders, mostly with industrial connections, claim that BPA has been safely used for 50 years and presents no risk to humans. This is a hollow claim. True, nobody has ever experienced an acute reaction from traces of BPA leached out of a polycarbonate bottle, but that is not the kind of risk we're worried about. The concern is over the possibility of subtle effects that may turn up after long term exposure to minute amounts of BPA, or health problems that may be manifested in the distant future if exposure occurs at a crucial stage of development. Such concerns are legitimate and are based upon suggestive, but certainly not conclusive, evidence.
American Chemistry Council
"An international panel of experts concluded that food is by far the main source of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and that other sources are of minor relevance. The experts were also able to model circulating levels of BPA in the human body, which are very low, indicating that BPA is not accumulated in the body and is rapidly eliminated."
- The World Health Organization (WHO), 2010
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
But, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), In January 2010, the FDA announced it shares the perspective of the National Toxicology Program (NTP) that recent studies provide reason for some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children. "The NTP has minimal concern for effects on the mammary gland and an earlier age for puberty for females in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A."
FDA also recognizes substantial uncertainties with respect to the overall interpretation of these studies and their potential implications for human health effects of BPA exposure. These uncertainties relate to issues such as the routes of exposure employed, the lack of consistency among some of the measured endpoints or results between studies, the relevance of some animal models to human health, differences in the metabolism (and detoxification) of and responses to BPA both at different ages and in different species, and limited or absent dose response information for some studies ... FDA is pursuing additional studies to address the uncertainties in the findings, seeking public input and input from other expert agencies, and supporting a shift to a more robust regulatory framework for oversight of BPA to be able to respond quickly, if necessary, to protect the public.
Information from the live chat provided by Dr. Schwarcz and audience questions appear below. You can read the full health chat on the safety of plastics on Medhelp.
"The Real Truth About Plastics: What You Should and Shouldn't Worry About
Q: Barbara
Are plastics safe to store food? Is there a difference between the containers bought in a dollar store as opposed to higher price plastic containers?
A: Dr. Schwarcz
There are many types of plastic containers. The ones sold for storage like Tupperware and Rubbermaid (I have no association with either of those companies) are great, they are made of polyethylene or polypropylene. I wouldn't, however, heat up tomato sauce in an old margarine tub because that has only been tested for margarine storage. As a general rule though for use in the microwave, oven glass or ceramic are the best.
Q: Katscan
Some vegetables come in those microwave bags-are they safe to use? What about storing food in Ziploc bags? I do that all the time. Am I exposing myself to BPA?
A: Dr. Schwarcz
Not a molecule of BPA in sight. These are made of polyethylene, the same as the shopping bags, hula hoops etc.
Q: SixUntilMe
Is it safer to use plastic or glass bottles for a newborn? I hear conflicting reports, and as a new mom, I'm paranoid.
A: Dr. Schwarcz
As you may have heard, Canada as well as some European countries and several states in the U.S. have banned polycarbonate #7 in baby bottles because of developmental problem concerns. This is based on the "precautionary principle" which suggests that if there is any risk we should avoid the substance, but one also has to exercise the precautionary principle in exercising the precautionary principle meaning that you have to make sure that the replacement is less risky than what you are replacing. I think in the baby bottle business, we have glass which is certainly a good replacement.
Bottom Line
Dr. Schwarcz talks about the "precautionary principle" where using a replacement that is less risky is good option like in the case of baby bottles. Glass bottles are available and it is a good alternative to plastic ones. He also says that using "glass or ceramic" are the best in the microwave.
He did not say to stop drinking out of water bottles and buy only BPA free products either. He did say in his live chat, that plastics that mimic estrogen contain BPA. He further adds that we are "exposed to estrogenic compounds all over the place," milk, soy, chickpeas are some examples of these compounds. "Natural estrogens in milk are thousands of time more potent estrogens than BPA," he stated during the live chat. While there is no clear conclusive evidence that BPA is 100 percent detrimental to your health, there is a report from the FDA in conjunction with the National Toxicology Program (NTP) that recent studies provide reason for some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children. The NTP has minimal concern for effects on the mammary gland and an earlier age for puberty for females in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A.
What Can You Do to Prevent Exposure to BPA?
If you are concerned, you can make personal choices to reduce exposure:
You are smart health consumers. You can decide what's best for you.
Additional and Helpful Resources
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
National Toxicology Program Bisphenol A (BPA) Fact Sheet
National Toxicology Program (BPA)
National Toxicology Program-Headquartered at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences NIH-HHS
The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Home Page)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Consumer Product Safety Commission
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Your Turn
We would love to hear your insightful thoughts. Are you concerned about the safety of plastics? Do you use plastic containers? Do you use only glass containers? Are you concerned about the safety of BPA? Do you buy BPA free products? What type of containers do you use to microwave your foods?
As always, thank you for your time.
(The live chat dialogue has been edited for grammar and spelling, content remained unchanged.)
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Best,
Barbara
Bisphenol A get's deep into our tissues and body.......it's an endocrine disruptor. Need I say more.
I understand that much of our recycleables are exported and not even recycled here at home.
I can't believe that as progressive as we want to be we are still not taking charge and recycling more.
I really have sour grapes about going to the effort of cleaning my recycleables, accummulating them and sorting them, only to find I am working so hard to put money into others pockets.
And where are they being sent? Are we polluting more and more with the transport of these things. Enough already!
Most dispensers end in landfill.
Plastic is an oil product.
There are other dioxins in plastic that react with heat.
Think about it, if it smells like plastic, it is giving off emissions.
Plastic allowed for advances in food packaging, storage, and safety. Plus all the benefits in medicine.
There are issues with plastics, but that does not mean that they are unsafe or wasteful. It is what it is. Plastic has revolutionized the world.
And wasteful, huh? Is that not relative? You are wasting lots of energy with your computer. I wonder where that energy comes from. Hopefully you are just wasting solar or wind energy and not something like coal or gas that negatively affects the environment more.
but isn't there some other "miracle" medium we could use? one that is less harmful?
again here is the problem: mass production.
when something needs to be made in monstrous quantities, the quality will be minuscule.
The issues are with the monomers and other agents in certain formulations of plastic material.
To produce something for a single use is strange enough. But to do so using un-degradable material -- now that is just bizarre!
Also, as this article demonstrates, the BPA issue is substantial -- after all, how common is it to see a plastic bottle of water heating up in a car? Bad stuff.
Not to mention that the land fills are loaded with plastic bottles. Check out http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2009/12/water-in-plastic-has-gotta-go-for-your-sake/ and scroll down for some pics, stats and an example of how plastic bottled water is so persuasively marketed to us, like those roller skating babies for Evian (at the above link.)
...Not to mention bottled water is a scam anyway.
I am a water researcher and will tell you that endocrine disrupting chemicals are ubiquitous in the environment. It is sad to see that our beautiful surface water and seemingly clean groundwater has been tainted by an insurmountable list of hormones, pharmaceuticals, fragrances, fertilizers, pesticides, plasticizers, *and the list goes on*... Haven't we realized that shortcuts (in this case cheaper materials w/ BPA) always lead to dead ends? Our stubborn culture unfortunately will be slow to catch on to this... so finding the compromise between clean and convenience is something we should strive for.
Don't know if you'll even see this, the article being somewhat old, but as you're a water researcher, do you know anything about the polymer and metal "flocculents" used to reduced turbidity by many water supply agencies?