Bisphenol A: What is it? & A Guide to this blog!

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a compound made for the plastic industry and mainly is used for softening plastics to a more malleable state. BPA is a problematic source because it falls into a category of Hydrocarbon, meaning that it is made out of Hydrogen, Oxgen, and Carbon. You can see the chemical properties at the MSDS page in the link list in the side bar. Above in the home/media archive directory you can find an archive of all of the picture and video posted on the blog.

Thank you for viewing!
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Steps Consumers should take

If you are a consumer there are easy steps you can take to avoid BPA, and getting plastic items that are labeled BPA free, staying away from cans, and having non labeled plastics tested.

Vocabulary Words

1. Estrogen- any of several major female sex hormones

2. Synthetic- created in a lab

3. Toxicity - how pervasive something is


4. Chromosome - The full name for a DNA


5. Genetics - the study of genes, DNA, and their diseases


6. Hydrocarbon - something made from Hydrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen


7. Gestation - pregnancy


8. Bioassay -  Measurement of the potency of a substance by its effect on living cells


9. Consumer - the general public that uses this substance


10. Chronic - over time

Toxicity of BPA

BPA when heated or exposed to acid leeches into the food or liquid, and creates problems. Since BPA is found in the lining of cans and is used to make plastic softer and more malleable. One notable thing is that it is a hydrocarbon, or a molecule of Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Carbon, which in certain cases is helpful or harmful.

BPA and Reproduction

BPA is currently under speculation by many of the endocrinology, reproductive specialists, and genetics communities. BPA is now believed to be harmfull to the reproductive system not just in hormone development but also in pregnancies. Dr. Giudice, the chair of OBGYN at UCSF, and Dr. Hunt, professor of genetics at Washington State, have found that BPA may be effecting fetus development and chromosome creation in mice. In humans, fertility rates have gone down and frequency of genetic diseases such as male genital development in gestation, and inborn defects.

BPA - Chemical Makeup

BPA is a compound made from Carbon, Oxgen, and Hydrogen.
The formula is C15H16O2. Making it fairly simple to find since most life forms are made from these three essential elements. But a large thing wrong with this is the fact that it is seemingly a synthetic estrogen.

Is Bisphenol A cancerous?

The President's Cancer Panel recently stated that the federal government has underestimated the role that environmental toxins may cause in the development of cancer, and its singled out

Bisphenol A as one of the most serious exposures facing Americans. In the earlier toxins post, it said that BPA is not harmful in any way, shape or form, and that it isn't cancereous. This says just the opposite. BPA seems to be clearly harmful, toxic, and cancerous.

Does BPA effect human growth?

BPA makes plastic hard and shatterproof. The chemical is used to line cans and is found in water bottles and baby bottles, as well as consumer products like CDs.

The final report by the Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program does not say BPA should be banned.

"More research is clearly needed to understand exactly how these findings relate to human health and development, but at this point we can't dismiss the possibility that the effects we're seeing in animals may occur in humans," said Michael Shelby, director of the department's Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, which conducted the review.

"If parents are concerned, they can make the personal choice to reduce exposures of their infants and children to BPA," he added in a release.

Earlier this month, scientists with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the trace amounts of bisphenol A that leach out of food containers are not a threat to infants or adults.

Day 3 and 4

On day four we learned about the toxicity of BPA. It stated that the levels of toxicity are below anything harmful, and should not be a problem to anyone. It was safe, and that there were no extremely harmful toxins in the product.

Toxicity of BPA

Bisphenol A has been used safely as an industrial chemical for over 40 years. The toxicology of BPA has been extensively studied by industry, government and academic research groups in short and long term animal tests. This includes several reproduction studies multi-generation exposure studies, and a cancer bioassay, all of which are part of the scientific literature. Importantly, non of the validated research suggests that BPA would cause adverse effects from exposure through consumer products or normal industrial production and use. Environmental and product-related exposure levels are anticipated to be well below any anticipated effect level.

Useful links about BPA

-Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A

-All Bisphenol A website

http://www.bisphenol-a.org/

-Environmentalist Group

http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/chemicals/bisphenolA

-Medscape News

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/484739_5

Day 2

On day two, we learned that Bisphenol A is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is sued to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, along with other applications. In September 2010 a report from the FDA raised further concerns regarding exposure of fetuses, infants and young infants. In September of 2010, Canada became the first country to declare BPA as a toxic substance. In the European Union and Canada, BPA use is banned in baby bottles.

Day 1

On day one, we learned some of the finer problems of BPA. We previously knew that BPA was an estrogen analogue (chemical look alike), and that it creates hormonal imbalances but not that if may create cancer and obesity.

BPA Study Findings

"Not only do people spray poison on their food, but they now also put it in plastic containers. This makes it twice the poison, and a higher risk of death." Just quoted by Roni. BPA has been found to retard the growth of follicles of adult mice, and hinder their production of steroid hormones, researchers report. Their study is the first to show that chronic exposure to low doses of BPA can impair the growth and function of adult reproductive cells. The researchers will describe their findings this month at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction.

Since BPA is in most plastics and there is a large amount of plastic trash in the area surrounding us, BPA has been effecting the sea and marine life, and trash eating scavengers. The effect is very similar to those in humans, with slight changes based on the animal.

BPA video

This video is about how BPA is in our daily foods, and how do identify them. It also talks about how it affects males, and where it affects males. Enjoy!

Bisphenol A Use

Most BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, along with other applications. At least 6 billion pounds of BPA are used by manufactures yearly as well as 6 billion dollars worth of profit. It is a key monomer in production of epoxy resins and in the most common form of polycarbonate plastic.

Chemical Decision

We chose the chemical Bisphenol A because it seemed interesting to us, and appealed to us. We've both always had an interest in it, and wondered how it occurred. This is what made us want to research this chemical. Tal's interest was why do male testosterone become smaller when BPA is exposed to them. Koby's interest was that he wanted to fully understand what BPA does, and what the reaction does to society. He had a previous basic understanding and wanted to improve his knowledge.

Some Cool Videos To watch

The video above is a comprehensive video of BPA and what it does, also showing what the Environmental Protection Agency has done.

The video below shows what BPA does and may do.