HIDDEN MENACE THAT’S EVEN IN TILL RECEIPTS
WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?
You might not have heard of BPA (short for bisphenol A) but it’s everywhere. It’s a synthetic chemical which is a building block for the clear plastics found in things like drinking bottles, CDs and DVDs, and plastic plates and cutlery. It’s also the basis for the epoxy linings of metal food cans, and is even found on the cash register receipts you’re given at the shops.
The problem with BPA is that it disrupts the normal hormonal processes that regulate the body. In particular, it mimics the female sex hormone oestrogen, and has been linked to health problems ranging from obesity to cancer, potentially even when we are exposed only to small amounts.
Our hormones control most major bodily functions such as reproduction, development, behaviour and even intelligence, so it’s vital they remain in balance. But experts fear that BPA – an imposter in the body which goes into the bloodstream and imitates natural hormones – can knock hormones out of kilter. For that reason, they can wreak long-term havoc on our health, especially among the vulnerable.
WHY IS IT MORE DANGEROUS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN?
Children and pregnant women are particularly susceptible to damage from ingesting the BPA chemical because they have vast amounts of growth and developmental hormones coursing through their bodies.
Worryingly, researchers have made strong associations between exposure to BPA when we are young and changes in behaviour, including disrupted brain development in children, along with increased probability of childhood asthma.
That said, the impact of early exposure to hormone- disrupting chemicals like BPA may not become apparent until much later in life. It can even affect future generations because it can have a damaging effect on female reproduction, and has the potential to affect male reproductive systems. A large number of scientific studies have associated BPA with numerous health problems including early puberty, obesity, infertility, the inhibition of insulin, hyperactivity and learning disabilities. It has also been connected to a possible increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Normally, if we were aware something could pose such a threat to our health, we would go to great lengths to avoid it. But BPA is so ubiquitous that that’s virtually impossible.
Researchers surmise that people all over the world of all ages are likely to have a measurable amount of BPA in their blood, urine or body tissue. Several government studies have detected BPA in large portions of the population, including 93 per cent of the US population aged six and older, and 99 per cent of the population in Germany aged 3-14. This new study into the high number of teenagers with BPA in their digestive system serves only to underscore that concern.
HOW ARE WE EXPOSED TO IT?
We are most exposed to BPA through our diet. It leaches out of polycarbonate products such as food containers and large water containers, as well as from the epoxy lining of aluminium and steel cans used to package pretty much any canned food or drink you can imagine, from tinned tomatoes and baked beans to beer and fizzy drinks. The ‘leakage’ from these products is made worse when the packaging contains acidic or oily foods such as lemon and tomato. It is also exacerbated by high temperatures.
Curiously, BPA is also present in high quantities as a print developer on till receipts. This means that when you handle receipts, it comes off on your fingers and is absorbed deep enough into your skin that it can’t be washed off. And don’t think you can use a hand sanitiser to wash it off: the chemicals in them can actually increase by up to 100fold the skin’s absorption of BPA.
In a recent study, researchers found that when people held till receipts immediately after using a hand sanitiser, BPA was transferred to their hands and then on to chips which they then ate – this combination of BPA going into the body through the skin and in the mouth led to a rapid and dramatic increase in the BPA level in their blood and urine.
So the best advice is to refuse cash register receipts unless you absolutely need them, and don’t let children touch them. If you do have to handle them, wash your hands with soap and water as soon as possible after touching receipts.
Most worryingly, scientists have found that BPA can be harmful to humans at levels well below those considered safe by government regulatory bodies.
In October last year, the EU banned BPA in packaging for products aimed at infants and children up to three years old, which extends the 2011 EU ban on BPA in baby bottles. But banning it in baby bottles and baby food containers ignores the fact that BPA is in so many other products that surround us every single day.
IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE?
You might pride yourself on always buying water bottles, for example, with a label that says ‘BPA-free’. But don’t get too excited. Given the public distrust of BPA, manufacturers have been replacing it with other chemicals from the diverse bisphenol family – substances with names such as bisphenol AF, bisphenol B, bisphenol C, bisphenol E, bisphenol F and bisphenol S. The names are similar for a reason – their chemical structures are practically identical, and research has shown that many such replacements also exhibit hormone-disrupting activity.