Deadly Plastics
Deadly Plastics Slowly Killing Us...a new study by Harvard School of Public Health raises concerns, The United States Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program endorsed a scientific panel's finding that there was "some concern" about neural and behavioral changes in humans who consume B.P.A. and the Canadian government declaring some of the chemicals present in plastic bottles to be, not just dangerous, but Toxic.
You know those recycle symbols on your plastic bottles?
Have you ever checked to see what they stand for?
Well, just a quick warning, the following story is very disturbing...
Plastic bottles...are they killing us?
You know those recycle symbols on the plastic bottles you use every day?
Also known as the SPI resin identification coding system.
For time sake, I'll just focus on one of these deadly chemicals, the chemical bisphenol A (BPA).
Recently Scientists have demonstrated that polycarbonate containers release BPA into liquid stored in them.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program endorsed a scientific panel's finding that there was "some concern" about neural and behavioral changes in humans who consume B.P.A.
BPA has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animals and has been linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes in humans. Experts warn that babies are at greater risk, because heating baby bottles increases the amount of BPA released, and the chemical is potentially more harmful to infants.
These findings sparked curiosity and concern about the chemical and lead to several recent studies.
A recent study at Harvard School of Public Health found that participants who drank for a week from polycarbonate bottles showed a two-thirds increase of BPA in their urine. Previous studies had found that BPA can be transferred from polycarbonate bottles into their contents, but this study is the first to show a corresponding increase in urinary BPA concentrations in humans.
Study author Karin B. Michels, associate professor of epidemiology at HSPH and Harvard Medical School, said: "We found that drinking cold liquids from polycarbonate bottles for just one week increased urinary BPA levels by more than two-thirds. If you heat those bottles, as is the case with baby bottles, we would expect the levels to be considerably higher. This would be of concern since infants may be particularly susceptible to BPA's endocrine-disrupting potential."
Altogether 77 students took part in the study after a seven-day 'washout' phase in which they drank all cold beverages from stainless steel bottles in order to minimize BPA exposure. They were then given two polycarbonate bottles and asked to drink all cold beverages from the bottles during the next week. The results showed the volunteers' urinary BPA concentrations increased 69% after drinking from the polycarbonate bottles.
The U.S. government's National Toxicology Program agreed with a scientific panel that recently expressed concern about physiological changes that occur in people when they ingest BPA that has leached from plastics into their food. The Canadian government is even considering declaring the chemical toxic, reports today's New York Times.
Canada is on the verge of flat out declaring BPA to be toxic.
"If the government issues a finding of toxic, no parent in their right mind will be using products made with this chemical," said Rick Smith, the executive director of Environmental Defense a Canadian group that has been campaigning against BPA "We will be arguing strongly for a ban on the use of this chemical in food and beverage containers."
So are the chemicals leaching into our beverages from plastic bottles toxic?
Technically, yes, but not to a dangerous level.
The plastics approved by the FDA that contain drinkable water have been tested for leaching chemicals under all conditions. Yes, all plastics leach chemicals, and heat can speed up this process. The important part is the level of toxic chemicals. The FDA has determined that the approved plastics do not leach enough toxic chemicals to come anywhere close to being deadly.
We come into contact with toxic chemicals every day in air, water, and food. Our civilization has found techniques to minimize the levels of these toxins to where they do not affect us. Even though these bottles have been transported in un-refrigerated trucks through deserts for hours at a time. Heat does increase leaching, but not anywhere near dangerous levels.
So, yes a reduction of the percentage of toxic chemicals in plastics is beneficial and very necessary, but right now our main concern should be about the slow decomposition rate of plastic bottles, and the littering of our environment. Like the ever growing Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which has an estimated size of 700,000 square kilometers (270,000 sqare miles) to more than 15,000,000 square kilometers (5,800,000 sqare miles). As some media reports, up to "twice the size of the continental United States."
