Is BPA really the big, bad, chemical the media portrays it to be?

Source: van Rijen, B. fear of BPA; Newspaper illustrations, 2018. https://dribbble.com/shots/5024376-fear-of-BPA#shot-description (accessed Feb.15, 2019). Copyright 2018 by B. van Rijen. Reprinted with permission.

Is BPA really the big, bad, chemical the media portrays it to be?

By: Sabrina Berndt

Over the years, media outlets have bombarded the public with the message, “BPA is bad!” However, these outlets often fail to support these claims with scientific evidence. So what is BPA and is it actually harmful to humans?

BPA stands for Bisphenol A.⁵ It is a chemical that is used in various products that we use daily; it is found in everyday products from plastic containers to receipts.⁵ BPA is also used to coat the insides of cans and jars so that they can easily be sterilized, in building materials and playground equipment, and in many electronic products.^2,3,5 BPA helps create plastics that are hard and shatter-proof, therefore, making these plastics useful for use in the manufacturing of a variety of products.³

Much of the controversy stems from the fact that in animal models, high doses (<50mg/kg) causes BPA to bind to estrogen receptors, but with 3-4 times less magnitude and competitively inhibits the binding of estrogen.³ Therefore, the amount of estrogen receptors is increased potentially causing endocrine disruptions by flucuating the natural hormone levels in the body.³ This raised concerns about decreased fertility for both males and females, young and old as a result of decreased sperm count in male and depleted oocyte quality in females.^1,3,4 BPA also raised concerns about increased birth defects and miscarriages, genital abnormalities, prostate and mammary gland cancer, early onset puberty, changes in menstrual cycles, metabolic disorders (i.e. weight gain and diabetes), behavioral changes and a compromised immune system.^1,3,4 

However, these contraversies were debunked as many scienfitic papers proved that due to the rapid elimination of BPA from the body (5-7 hours) and the low levels (>0.01 to 13μgkg⁻¹day⁻¹) we are potentially exposed to in everyday life, these risks are minimal.^1,3,4 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims that current levels of BPA exposure are safe.⁴ Overall, the human studies conducted thus far are insufficient to address whether low doses of BPA are associated with health effects in humans.³ Therefore, the American Chemical Council, United States Environmental Protection Agency, FDA and many other companies currently agree that BPA is not the big, bad, chemical that media outlets have made it out to be and is safe for use in products in low doses.^3,4

References:

¹Schug T.; Vogel S.; Vandenberg L.; Braun J.; Hauser R.; Taylor J.; vom Saal F.; and Heindel J. Bisphenol A. In Dioxins and Health [Online], Schecter A., Eds.; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2012; p381–413. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118184141.ch12 (accessed Feb.9, 2019)

²Bisphenol A (BPA) Production and Manufacturing Information. 2007. ICIS. https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2007/11/01/9075167/bisphenol-a-bpa-production-and-manufacturing-information/ (accessed Feb.11, 2019)

³Bisphenol A. In Encyclopedia of Toxicology [Online]; Goodman J., Peterson, M., Eds. ScienceDirect: Posted April 4, 2014. p514–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-386454-3.00366-3 (accessed Feb.9, 2019)

⁴Metz, C.; Bisphenol A: Understanting the Contraversy. Workplace Health & Safety. 2016, 64(1), p28–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165079915623790 (accessed Feb.9, 2019)

⁵National Center for Biotechnology Information. Bisphenol A. PubChem Compound Database; https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/6623 (accessed Feb. 10, 2019).