Blog Action Day: Speaking Out Against Bisphenol-a for the Health of Our Babies

Our babies need our help. It has become apparent through hundreds of research studies that Bisphenol-a (BPA) is a harmful, hormone disruptor commonly found in plastic baby bottles. So many of us still accept the rhetoric spewed by the plastics industry while waiting for more “concrete evidence.” Well, I’m done waiting for everyone to shake hands and agree that the plastics industry might be pushing their “polycarbonate is safe” message simply to pad their pockets. The reason for their insistence is obvious: the rapidly expanding multibillion-dollar market for Bisphenol A has become one of the highest-volume chemicals in commercial production. BPA is one of the top 50 chemicals in production in the United States, generating billions of dollars for the plastics industry.

It’s outrageous that BPA hasn’t already banned in the U.S. So what can we do to make an impact?

As a start, we can educate ourselves and everyone we know about the dangers of Bisphenol-a exposure, especially in children:

• Increase in obesity and diabetes
• Interference with the normal development of a fetus
• Stimulation of mammary gland development, which is a risk factor for breast cancer
• Early onset of puberty, and stimulation of mammary gland development in females
• Changes in gender-specific behavior
• Changes in hormones, including decreased testosterone
• Increased prostate size
• Decreased sperm production
• Altered immune function
• Behavioral effects including hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, impaired learning and other changes in behavior

Secondly, we need to learn where BPA lurks. It can be found in places you would never dream of, such as: plastic coating for children’s teeth to prevent cavities, as a coating in metal cans to prevent the metal from contact with food contents, as the plastic in food containers, refrigerator shelving, water bottles, returnable containers for juice, milk and water, micro-wave ovenware and eating utensils, fungicide, antioxidant, flame retardant, rubber chemical, and polyvinyl chloride stabilizer. BPA contamination is also widespread in the environment. For example, BPA can be measured in rivers, estuaries, and sediment. It is quite persistent and under normal conditions in the environment it does not readily degrade.

Third, make the choice to protect our babies by replacing toxic feeding gear. MommyBlogsToronto gives us some wonderful tips:

Until Bisphenol A is banned, we can switch to glass bottles. Or we can look for safer plastic bottle options. The “safest” plastic bottles are reportedly made from high-density polyethylene (look for a number 2 in the recycling triangle symbol on the bottom). Other good options are low-density polyethylene (#4 in the recycling symbol) or polypropylene (#5 in the recycling symbol). Bisphenol A is highest in plastics with a #7 in the recycling symbol.

Last, but not least, work to ban toxic chemicals in food containers and retail products.

In this age of readily available information, we have no excuse but to educate ourselves and take action to create change for the better.