Consuming Chemicals : Rethinking What We Heat, Serve and Eat (By Sarah (Steve) Mosko, Ph.D.)
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5180
What do breast milk, food cans, microwave popcorn, and fast-food French fry boxes have in common with meat, fish and dairy products? They’re all avenues of human ingestion of potentially harmful chemicals associated with everyday plastics.
Although the jury is still out on what levels of exposure are unsafe, it is indisputable that we all consume chemicals from plastics on a daily basis.
Biomonitoring projects like Environmental Working Group’s 2005 BodyBurden study of cord blood in neonates and the Mind, Disrupted investigation of blood and urine in adults representing the learning and developmental disabilities community published in February 2010—consistently find neurotoxic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals used in common plastics among the substances routinely tainting human tissues. Although diet is not the only route of exposure, it is a major one. Read more
BPA in 98% of the U.S. population
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5176
Bad News BPA
May 24, 2010
Reported by Brita Belli
More bad news is emerging about the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), found in canned food linings and much plastic food and beverage packaging. A study just published in Environmental Health Perspectives finds a significant relationship between mice exposed to BPA during pregnancy and pre-diabetes. The study finds, specifically, that exposure to BPA during pregnancy leads to increased insulin resistance and alterations in glucose tolerance in the mothers during pregnancy and later in life.
And BPA appears to affect male babies in utero, too—exposure was significantly associated with a pre-diabetic state in male offspring. These changes occurred with BPA does that were five times lower than those recommended as safe for humans.
BPA is so widespread that it’s been detected in urine samples of 98% of the U.S. population. The chemical, prone to leaching, has been associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, moderate obesity, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance.
Heightened Concern Over BPA
How safe is that plastic bottle?
When pregnant mice are exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in everyday plastics, such as sunglasses, drink bottles, shatterproof baby-bottles, and some dental sealants and fillings, exposure may adversely affect the mother, but also, disturb development in the unborn fetuses. In a recently released report, USGS scientists say even low doses of the chemical may affect the reproductive systems of male and female mice, organizational development of the brain, and metabolic processes. Evidence suggests that when exposed female fetuses reach adulthood, there is a greater potential for abnormal eggs and embryos. Learn more here (PDF) or contact Catherine Richter at (573) 876-1841 or crichter@usgs.gov.
USGS Office of Communications
Health Effects of Endocrine Disruptor Bisphenol A