At least, it’s the word I’m hearing more and more about these days. It has come to the attention of a lot of people that plastics made with it may not be as safe as claimed. In fact, Canada is looking at regulating or banning it.
Sounds good to me. It seems like we’re taking an awful chance by insisting that it’s safe enough.
Now I know it probably isn’t leaching into my food or drinks enough to matter. But the trouble with saying it’s probably safe is that it’s admitting we don’t quite know. And when there are alternatives that are more likely to be safe, it just makes more sense to me to go with those.
It’s going to mean some changes for me. My desk water bottle is made of Nalgene, which contains Bisphenol-A. Once I have the money, it’s getting replaced. I learned long since not to use a glass often at my desk. I ruined two keyboards that way. I’m thinking of getting a Klean Kanteen when the time comes, or maybe a Sigg, although I gather Sigg won’t say what their liner is.
I particularly want you to think about this quote from Energy and Commerce Chair John Dingell that I read over on TreeHugger:
“There are serious health concerns about whether Bisphenol A is safe, not only for adults, but for children and infants,” and is concerned that the Food and Drug Administration’s policies on BPA are “entirely dependent on two studies’ that are both funded by a subsidiary of the American Chemistry Council, which represents plastic resins manufacturers.”
It seems to me that we’ve been burned by that kind of a situation before. Of course the manufacturers’ studies show that it’s safe enough. So long as the dangers aren’t too obvious, it’s easy to say that. But what about long term?
Anyone really enjoy being a lab rat?
Yes, I suppose this does sound a little paranoid or some such. But I’ve given this a lot of thought, and it just makes sense to me to allow caution to rule.
I totally agree about allowing caution to rule! We’re definitely on the same page there. The possible cumulative effects are scary (yet another reason I’m glad I breastfed my kids instead of formula feeding from bottles).
I didn’t know about the fact that Bisphenol A is also used in food can linings. Yikes. I avoid canned stuff anyway because of the sodium, but now I have another good reason.
Thanks for the good post! The more people write about the issue, the more awareness is raised.
[…] then there’s trying to avoid BPA. This can be a tough one, since some argue whether or not it’s even an issue. The FDA […]