As we all know by know, plastics have taken over our society and we as people choked our environment with all this plastic debris at land and at sea. However, what we don’t know (us in class and the rest of the world) are the true effects of BPA, or Bisphenol- A. Bisphenol- A is a chemical compound used to make plastic and epoxy resins. After, discussing about it very briefly in class, I decided to check up on my own what exactly this chemical does to your body. Before BPA was used in water bottles, baby bottles, and cans for food, it was used as an estrogen substitute. Everyone agrees that BPA is an “endocrine disruptor” and that it mimics estrogen. According to Thomas Zoeller, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts and an advocate against BPA, it binds to not just the estrogen receptor, but to also the male hormone and the thyroid hormone receptor.
The rage to this BPA controversy comes in to play as to how harmful is this endocrine disruptor. Besides, humans are not nearly exposed enough to have an effect on us, right? Well, some studies show that US residents are exposed to a very low amount of BPA, most of which are efficiently metabolized and excreted. Others disagree and say that humans are exposed to at least eight times the suggested amount every day (50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body mass), and the liver can’t keep up detoxifying.
After searching and searching for the truth, I seem to have gotten nowhere. There is so much to discuss and so little time and space, we might not have time to discuss them all in our debate. I don’t know which side to take. That will make reffing the debate a lot more difficult, meaningful and interesting. Coming into the debate as a ref allowed me to search both sides of the coin, the advocates against and the advocates for BPA.
Sources:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/09/20/20greenwire-study-human-exposure-to-bpa-grossly-underestima-4581.html?pagewanted=all&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A18%22%7D
2. http://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffreykabat/2014/09/04/the-raging-controversy-over-bpa-shows-no-signs-of-abating/
– Adiell Melamed
By: Viviane Wahba on November 5, 2014 at 11:39 pm
During the debate, the details about what BPA is and what it is used for was a little fuzzy. I like how you started off this post with a brief description of BPA.
This posts truly sums up our scientific debate of BPA. Both sides were trying to prove that what they believed to be the correct course of action to take. I was a referee too and as you stated, I did not know which side would have more sufficient information and who would win me over. I came to the conclusion that there really is no true answer to the controversy of whether or not to use BPA unless it is tested on humans, which is unlawful.
I like how you put this, “After searching and searching for the truth, I seem to have gotten nowhere. There is so much to discuss and so little time and space…” With all of the overwhelming studies and details of BPA it is a little frustrating to me that no one has yet to come up with an accurate conclusion about the necessary measures to take. This is what really bothers me about science- when there are no answers, only questions.
By: juliapare on November 6, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Adiell,was BPA used as an estrogen substitute in a medical setting? If so, that portrays a disturbing connection between medicine and industry that should not exist! The idea that some manufacturers would just pour a formerly medical substance into mass consumed goods is just scary, and begs the question of what other substances are they putting in our things without properly figuring out the possible results. As Viviane said above, science poses a lot of questions that don’t have answers. It’s scary that, in the absence of answers, we get people in places of power who dismiss hazards as nonexistent.