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Date: | Sun, 22 Jul 2007 08:44:39 -0500 |
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>Carolyn Schindewolf <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>Our Community Ed dept received a letter from a mother of a 3 year
>old. She had taken our breastfeeding class during her pregnancy and
>was writing to voice her concern that we recommended the Avent pump
>which she stated "contain bisphenols and could have harmed the baby".
For what it's worth, the National Toxicology Program's Center for the
Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction will be reviewing the data
on bisphenol-a in a few weeks. The interim report is available at
<http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/> (click on report in the right-hand
sidebar). It is a lengthy read, but it may be useful. Odds are there
will be some media interest in the story, hence more moms with
concerns. Depending on which source you consult, however, you will
learn that BPA is either the safest thing on planet Earth or the
surest path to human extinction.
I think the following article is pretty balanced
<http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/ask/nalgene>.
One of the researchers referenced in the article isn't named, but
I've read the research and recognized the work of Patricia A. Hunt.
Her lab group accidentally discovered that damaged polycarbonate
bottles leach BPA and that that is associated with a higher risk of
chromosomal damage to oocytes (see the abstract
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=12676084&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus>).
This was a fairly potent discovery, because the bottles were not
"melted" but rather damaged by machine washing with a harsh detergent.
With regard to human health risk BPA may affect hormonally sensitive
tissue and its function (particularly if exposure occurs during
development). What constitutes "hormonally sensitive tissue" is
fairly broad though. Traditionally, researchers focused on gonadal
and breast tissues, but researchers are now learning that many other
tissues are hormonally sensitive to some degree or another. For
example, there's been some recent research suggesting that BPA can
affect insulin secretion, thus alter metabolism, which may contribute
to obesity.
The operative word here is "may"---a lot of this is speculative and
there are so many other factors that play into the equations. Not the
least of which is sorting through the differing conclusions about the
data. The plastics industry has a website devoted to BPA:
<http://www.bisphenol-a.org>. Contrast what's on that site with Our
Stolen Future's site:
<http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/policy/2006/2006-0107ab319.html>.
Good luck.
regards,
Julia
Julia R. Barrett
Science Writer & Editor in the Life Sciences
Madison, Wisconsin
608-238-8409; [log in to unmask]
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