On the day of our debate we will hear arguments from different positions on whether Bisphenol A is harmful in its current concentrations. Before we investigate the harmless effects of the current Bisphenol A concentrations, let’s discuss its background. Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is a chemical produced in large quantities for use primarily in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.
In many studies, BPA has been found to be harmless to subjects when consumed in present concentrations. For example, “Health Canada last updated its risk assessment associated with Bisphenol A (BPA) used in food packaging applications in August 2008. At the time of that assessment, the Department determined Probable Daily Intakes (PDI) for BPA of 0.18 µg/kg bw/day for the general population and 1.35 µg/kg bw/day for infants.” According to this study the recommended dosage is a lot higher than the dosage that we consume daily.
Another study performed by, “Scientists at the US Food and Drug Administration’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) have been studying BPA. Some of their findings include:
the level of BPA from food that can be passed from pregnant mothers to the fetus is so low it can’t be measured. Researchers fed pregnant rodents 100 to 1000 times more BPA than people are exposed to through food, and could not detect the active form of BPA in the foetus eight hours after the mother’s exposure, exposure to BPA in human infants is from 84–92% less than previously estimated, BPA is rapidly metabolised and eliminated through faeces and urine and there was no evidence of BPA toxicity at low doses in rodent studies, including doses that are still above human exposure levels.” In this study, the levels of BPA are proven to be at such low levels, making BPA harmless and able to be metabolized. Another aspect of this study is that BPA was FED to the rodents, making it easily metabolized. BPA that is injected is not easily metabolized because it enters the bloodstream immediately rather than going through the digestion process. The conclusion of this study was that research on the harmful effects of BPA does not support restrictive actions that some countries are taking in regards to its consumption.
There are many more arguments that we have developed, but we will surprise you with them on debate day!!
Sources:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/chemicals/bpa/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/packag-emball/bpa/bpa_hra-ers-2012-09-eng.php
By: Brett Branco on November 11, 2014 at 2:45 am
So based on your post Anna, I get the sense that you are skeptical about the need to ban BPA. Is this right? One thing that we didn’t discuss during the debate was whether or not BPA has any harmful effects on other organisms in the environment (e.g. fish).