What is BPA and why should we be concerned?
In a nutshell, BPA is a potentially harmful ingredient that is in plastic. What is fuzzy is just what kind of plastic does it include?
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high production-volume chemical commonly used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic. Low-level concentrations of BPA in animals and possibly in humans may cause endocrine disruption. Whether ingestion of food or beverages from polycarbonate containers increases BPA concentrations in humans has not been studied. (source: http://www.ehponline.org)
This conversation on Facebook started with my comment and link to another article detailing a bit of an update on the state of outlawing BPA in baby bottles. (here)
My friend, Andrea Paulinelli of Eco Transitions placed a link to her blog about water conservation and the other savings of not using plastic water bottles. They are all good points but don’t allude to the health risks of using plastic made with BPA. (Please note: It’s not supposed to be in the plastic drinking water bottles labeled PET or PETE.)
Marianne is a friend that currently lives in Africa. This is where the tables sort of switch when it comes to drinking water. Tap water is a different situation there than it is in our country as you can imagine. Do plastic drinking containers contain BPA there? It’s a good question to ask our friend if she’ll oblige.
I’ve blogged about this plastic ingredient, BPA before. We swapped from drinking bottles made and purchased by Nalgene before they stopped producing them with BPA (read more here). We now use Klean Kanteen. Another post has detailed definitions for each kind of plastic recycle number. (read more here). Provided those numbers stamped on the bottom of the container are correct, we can avoid BPA.
A plastic that could include BPA should have a recycle number of 7. (The catch all could include any kind of plastic is in this “7” category.) So if you have to use plastic, it is safest to stick to numbers 2 (HDPE), 4 (LDPE), 5 (PP) whenever possible. The new bio-plastics are now also using this recycle category number 7 which also confuses the issue.
Bottom line, be aware of the kind of plastic you use in your daily life. I also recommend using only glass in your microwave.
Happy Washing!
~Regina