BISPHENOL A UPDATE

CANADIANS RACE TO GO BPA-FREE:

STORE SHELVES EMPTYING OF ALTERNATIVES

Earlier this month I reported on Canada’s quest to ban bisphenol A from store shelves. Like many of the good news stories I publish here, I had to dig deep to find relevant details, because feel-good environmental stories are not easy to come by in the mainstream press. I was under the impression that the bisphenol A story was buried deep in the “Science and Technology” section of a few scattered newspapers, and that the story hadn’t really reached a mass audience here in Canada. Boy, was I wrong.

This is from Carly Weeks at the Globe and Mail:

Canadian parents have been emptying store shelves and bombarding manufacturers with orders in the past week as they scramble to stock up on baby bottles made without bisphenol A, a potentially harmful and increasingly controversial chemical common in many plastics.

The overwhelming demand has resulted in shortages across the country and backlogs at many distributors, making it difficult for some parents to get their hands on BPA-free bottles.

"There's definitely been a surge in the last week or so throughout Canada," said Ron Vigdor, president of Florida-based Born Free Inc., one of the only major companies that specialize in BPA-free bottles. "We've been told a lot of shelves are empty today."

Read the full article here.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a hormone disruptor that has been linked to cancer and reproductive problems. BPA can be found in many everyday products including food cans, plastic water containers and baby bottles. Studies have shown that people can be exposed to Bisphenol A when it leaches out of these products.

BPA is currently under review by Health Canada (and other agencies around the world), but I think it’s great to see people taking action without waiting for governments to make the decision for them. In fact, why not help make Health Canada’s decision a whole lot easier: sign Toxic Nation’s petition to ban BPA

¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!

CANADIAN STORES PULL TOXIC BOTTLES

CANUCK RETAIL CHAIN

DUMPS POLYCARBONATE BOTTLES

Canada's largest outdoor-goods chain has pulled water bottles and food containers made of polycarbonate plastic from its shelves over worries about the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to cancer and reproductive problems. Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op is the first major Canadian retailer to stop selling products that contain BPA. U.S.-based outdoor gear company Patagonia and baby bottle manufacturer Whole Foods Markets have also dropped products containing BPA.

Bisphenol A is a synthetic chemical compound used in a wide range of consumer items, including water bottles, baby bottles, and the linings of food cans, including most major brands of infant formula. BPA is a hormone disruptor, and low-dose BPA exposure has been linked to permanent changes to genital tract, increase prostate weight, decline in testosterone, breast and prostate cells predisposed to cancer, and hyperactivity. Studies show that BPA can leach into food if heated or scrubbed. Manufacturers say the products are not dangerous, citing studies from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that containers manufactured from polycarbonate do not pose a health risk to humans.

Health Canada is conducting an assessment of bisphenol A and expects to issue a final report in 2009. Norway and the European Union are also reviewing the product. Japanese manufacturers voluntarily stopped making products using polycarbonate plastic six years ago.

There are plenty of alternatives to using polycarbonate plastic. First, avoid food and beverage containers that contain BPA - containers marked with the recycling symbol #7. Or better yet, avoid plastics altogether and switch to glass or stainless steel containers.

Finally, take action: sign Toxic Nation’s petition to ban BPA.

Sources, resources and discourses:

1. The Globe and Mail – article
2. ENN –article
3. ENN – article
4. Wikipedia – “Bisphenol A”
5. Environmental Defence – webpage
6. Toxic Nation – petition to ban bisphenol A