.png)
Hey guys.
Over the last few weeks I've posted some articles on hazardous substances that are, or could potentially be, too big a risk to human health to continue using.
Today, I'd like to dig a little deeper into Bisphenol A, or BPA.
Over recent years BPA has been thrust into the public eye due to its apparent links to some pretty serious health problems, but it's been around for a lot longer.
It was first synthesized in 1891.
It was only in the '50's that manufacturers started to use BPA to produce tough plastic products that they would sell globally for over 60 years without any regulations or laws to control the risks and dangers.
What is BPA?
BPA is a synthetic chemical compound that is used as a building block for polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. It's actually the key ingredient and has been used for decades in many consumer products.
Products like your CDs, your favourite sports gear and even your baby's formula milk. There is a very big chance that you and everyone you know is surrounded by BPA.
Unfortunately, BPA is also a hormone (or endocrine) disrupting chemical.
The endorine system is basically your bodies way of controlling all the different developments going on in your body as you grow up, through an intricate network of hormones and glandular systems.
We really should stop using Bisphenol A
Having your endocrine system disrupted is very likely to bring about a wide range of detrimental health effects. And BPA can get everywhere.
It's a substance that is able to migrate. Meaning it can leach into your food through the coating in your food cans, and then into your body through your stomach.
It soaks into your skin through the receipts you get every time you go to do your weekly shopping, and then straight into your body to accumulate.
And it's everywhere.
A quick Google search showed me it was estimated, last year, that over 93% of the adult population of the planet have been exposed to measurable amounts of BPA.
It's been found in our urine, our sweat, ovarian follicular fluid, placental tissue and even breast milk. There is also strong evidence that says it accumulates over time in our amniotic fluid.
BPA has also been linked to breast cancer
There is already quite a large amount of evidence stating that even at low levels of exposure, BPA can have some seriously adverse affects on the development of breast tissues.
Studies in laboratories show that BPA is able to convert normal breast cells into more malignant, cancerous cells and studies on animals shows that exposure in the womb, or early life can lead to increased breast density and susceptibility to tumours.
Bipspenol A is also able to interfere with cell division and chemotherapy making the treatment far less effective in breast cancer sufferers.
If you're looking for information of Bisphenol A or any of the other dangerous chemicals we use every day, you can take the COSHH Risk Assessor Certification™.
