While many theories exists as to what contributed the most to the collapse of the Roman Empire, the speculation that lead compounds found in their food, water, and cosmetics generated widespread health and behavioral issues is well known. Roman citizens accidentally increased the lead level in their blood to a figure 10 times higher than their Germanic neighbors. While advances in chemistry since the industrial revolution should have given humanity enough insight to avoid the same mistake, continued findings about the effects of a little-known chemical called BPA reveals that the western world may have been poisoning itself in a similar fashion for the last 60 years.
Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is a popular organic compound used in plastic products. This plastic "building block" is flexible and highly resistant to temperature change and shattering, making it a popular choice for polycarbonate plastic that needs to be especially durable. This means that BPA is essentially everywhere.
The American Chemical Society found that canned food and drinks are almost always lined with BPA-based plastic due to its need to resist the temperature and pressure associated with the canning process. CD's and DVD's are laced with BPA plastic to prevent warping from the heat cycles associated with their rotation and reading inside of a disk drive. Polycarbonate eyeglass lenses are used for their perceived safety over traditional glass, which is the same reason that drives manufacturers of medical, dental, and sports equipment to utilize BPA based plastics. Dental fillings and even the receipt paper from your local grocery store are likely to contain BPA.
Perhaps most alarmingly, baby bottles, water bottles, and microwavable plastic containers are likely to contain BPA plastic. This was brought to national news when a company was found to be marketing eco-friendly children's water bottles that contained BPA-laced seals. Though independent testing found that the seals did not leech BPA into the bottle's contents, Sigg, the manufacturing company, offered a free liner-exchange for those concerned about the contents of the plastic liners.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with equivalent bodies in Japan and the EU, have not found that BPA poses any risk to children. Despite this, continued research from scientists state that even low doses of BPA can have disastrous effects on development.
Government-sponsored research from Kyushu University in Japan suggests that BPA functions as a Xenoestrogen, which essentially blocks estrogen receptors. This effect drastically drops testosterone levels in men and natural estrogen function in women. This explains the primary effects of BPA exposure as sampled from laboratory animals and the human population.
The U.S. EPA's healthy exposure level for BPA is 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight, but laboratory animals suffered severe consequences for much lower doses according to the results from studies conducted at various universities:
Independent, peer-reviewed scientific research published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal shows that 99% of American mothers test positive for recent BPA exposure at least once during the course of their pregnancy.
The report finds that BPA exposure during pregnancy causes children to develop persistent behavioral issues, including cross-gender depression. Male children exposed to BPA are likely to posses lasting anxiety issues relating to the estrogen imbalance, while this effect predisposes girls to possess hyperactivity disorders and aggressive behavior. The study suggests that these chemical-behavior modifications will persist throughout the child's life, though it needs a longer study period to scientifically confirm this.
According to university studies in Boston and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, BPA levels are also associated with obesity, both increasing the body's likelihood of storing fatty tissue and the change in consumption habits associated with depressive behavior disorders.
The easiest way to avoid BPA is to purchase from brands that vow not to use the chemical. Toys'R'Us and Wal-Mart will cease carrying BPA baby bottles by early next year. Baby product manufacturer Playtex will also be discontinuing the use of BPA in their products. Avoiding plastic food storage containers and plastic water bottles, especially those marked as resin-type 3 or 7 (the number you see inside the recycle symbol on the bottom) is another way to keep Bisphenol A out of your blood stream, and your family's bloodline. Canned food and drinks are also products to swear off, though industry groups say that these applications of BPA plastics do not leech into the product they help seal.
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