Decades of research document the detrimental health effects of BPA – an expert on environmental pollution and maternal health explains what it all means
Decades of research document the detrimental health effects of BPA – an expert on environmental pollution and maternal health explains what it all means
The game of "chemical Whack-A-Mole" – and how it affects the products you buy.
What is BPA?
BPA is not only used in plastics and food and drink containers but also in pizza boxes, shopping receipts, liners of aluminum cans and much more. Scientists have found that BPAis an endocrine disruptor, which means it disrupts hormonal systems that support the body's functioning and health.
Hormonal disruption is a particular problem during pregnancy and fetal development, when even minor changes can alter the trajectory of developmental processes, including brain and metabolic development.
Over the last two decades, public awareness about the risks led many companies to remove BPA from their products. As a result, studies have shown that BPA levels in people's bodies appear to be declining in the U.S. However, a nationwide research team that I helped lead as part of a national NIH consortium showed in a recent study of pregnant women that the decline in BPA could in part be explained by the fact that BPA replacement chemicals have been on the rise over the last 12 years. And other studies have found that many BPA substitutes are typically just as harmful as the original.
BPA was first approved for use in food packaging by the FDA in the 1960s. In 2008, the agency released a draft report concluding that "BPA remains safe in food contact materials." This assessment was met with pushback from many health advocates and environmental health organizations. The FDA claimed BPA to be "safe in food contact materials" as recently as 2018.
One of the major challenges to limiting harmful chemicals is that regulatory agencies like the FDA try to figure out the levels of exposure that they consider harmful. In the U.S., both the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency have a long history of underestimating exposures – in some cases because they do not adequately capture "real-world exposures," or because they fail to fully consider how even small exposures can affect vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children.
Surprising research findings on the safety of 'BPA-free' products.
And while much attention has been paid to BPA's effects on pregnancy and child development, there is also significant research on its effects on male reproductive health. It has been linked to prostate cancer and drops in sperm count.
In a study our research team conducted that measured BPA in pregnant women, we asked study participants if they knew about BPA or tried to avoid BPA. Many of our study participants said they knew about it or tried to avoid it, but we found their actions appeared to have no effect on exposure levels. We believe this is, in part, because of BPA's presence in so many products, some of them known and some unknown that are difficult to control.
What you can do
One of the most common questions our staff and clinicians that work with patients are asked is how to avoid harmful chemicals like BPA and BPA substitutes. A good rule of thumb is to avoid drinking and eating from plastics, microwaving food in plastic and using plastic take-out containers – admittedly easier said than done. Even some paper take-out containers can be lined with BPA or BPA substitutes.
Our recent review of the research found that avoiding plastic containers and packaging, fast and processed foods and canned food and beverages, and instead using alternatives like glass containers and consuming fresh food, can reduce exposures to BPA and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Research has shown that when heat comes into contact with plastic – whether water bottles, Tupperware, take-out containers or cans – BPA and other chemicals are more likely to leach into the food inside. One should also avoid putting hot food into a food processor or putting plastic containers into the dishwasher. Heat breaks down the plastic, and while the product might appear fine, the chemicals are more likely to migrate into the food or drink – and ultimately, into you.
We also know that when acidic foods like tomatoes are packaged in cans, they have higher levels of BPA in them. And the amount of time food is stored in plastic or BPA-lined cans can also be a factor in how much the chemicals migrate into the food.
No matter how much people do as individuals, policy change is essential to reducing harmful chemical exposures. A large part of our work at UCSF's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment is to hold regulatory agencies accountable for assessing chemical risks and protecting public health. What we have learned is that it is essential for agencies like the EPA and FDA to use the most up-to-date science and scientific methods to determine risk.
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"Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate. Only Love Can Do That", Dr. Martin Luther King.
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RDC: tous les accords signés avec le Rwanda suspendus après un Conseil de défense
16/06/2022 - 11:14
Un membre des ADF dans le village de Manzalaho près de Béni en février 2020 (Image d'illustration).AFP - ALEXIS HUGUET
Le gouvernement congolais ne décolère pas face au Rwanda. Il durcit davantage les sanctions prises contre ce pays accusé d'agression. Autour du président de la République, il y avait lors de ce Conseil, les responsables de l'armée et des services de sécurité ainsi que les ministres concernés. Selon le porte-parole du gouvernement, tous les accords et pré-accords signés avec l'État rwandais sont suspendus. Kigali est également appelé à retirer ses troupes du territoire congolais.
Jusque-là, des mesures économiques et commerciales avaient été mises en place. Il y avait d'abord la suspension des vols de Rwandair, la compagnie nationale rwandaise qui venait d'inaugurer des vols bihebdomadaires à destination de Lubumbashi et de Goma, en plus de Kinshasa qui faisait déjà partie de son réseau.
Vers une rupture des relations diplomatiques
Les nouvelles mesures annoncées ce mercredi ont également une teneur économique. Elles concernent par exemple la suspension du protocole de coopération entre la société aurifère du Kivu et du Maniema (Sakima SA) et la société rwandaise Dither LTD. Par cet accord, Kinshasa avait accepté que l'or extrait par Sakima soit raffiné au Rwanda.
Dans l'entourage de Félix Tshisekedi, on n'exclut pas de passer au niveau supérieur si le soutien du Rwanda au M23 se poursuit. La prochaine étape, renseigne-t-on, pourrait être l'expulsion de l'ambassadeur rwandais en poste à Kinshasa ou encore la rupture des relations diplomatiques.
Au ministère des affaires étrangères, on dit croire encore à la médiation assurée par le président angolais Joâo Lourenco et aux efforts du président Kényan Uhuru Kenyatta.
Moyens logistiques
Le Conseil supérieur de la défense a également appelé le gouvernement à mettre à la disposition des FARDC plus de moyens logistiques pour pouvoir faire face à l'ennemi. Remerciements aussi à la population congolaise, notamment à la société civile de Goma pour son soutien continu à l'armée.
Pas de stigmatisation ni de chasse à l'homme, ont demandé les participants à la réunion.
Le président kényan, Uhuru Kenyatta, a appelé ce mercredi, dans un communiqué, au déploiement immédiat d'une force régionale dans l'est de la RDC. La création d'une telle cette force avait été annoncée à Nairobi en avril à l'issue d'un mini-sommet de Communauté d'Afrique de l'Est que la RDC a rejoint cette année.
Avec notre correspondante à Nairobi, Florence Morice
L'idée de cette force régionale n'est pas nouvelle, mais cette fois le président Kenyatta demande son « activation » immédiate. Il annonce d'ailleurs la tenue ce dimanche à Nairobi d'une réunion des commandants régionaux de défense des pays concernés afin de « finaliser les préparatifs » en vue de son déploiement.
Cette force serait envoyée selon le président kényan « dans les provinces de l'Ituri, du Nord-Kivu et du Sud-Kivu » afin de les « stabiliser » en coopération avec l'armée congolaise et la Monusco. Quels pays pourraient y prendre part ? Ce n'est pas précisé. La question se pose surtout pour le Rwanda alors que la RDC accuse Kigali d'« invasion » de son territoire depuis la prise de la ville de Bunagana lundi par les rebelles du M23.
Dans son communiqué, le président Kenyatta se dit « inquiet » de ces derniers développement. Il dit redouter que ce « conflit ouvert » ne sape « le processus politique en cours ». Autrement dit, les consultations entre gouvernement et groupes armés congolais, ouvertes à Nairobi en avril et censée permettre de ramener la paix dans de la RDC. Ce matin, une source à la présidence congolaise assure qu'un nouveau round de consultations devrait se tenir dans la capitale kényane prochainement.
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"Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate. Only Love Can Do That", Dr. Martin Luther King.
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