BPA and phthalates in plastics

What it is

• BPA is found in many plastics and epoxy resins, in products from infant bottles to water pipes.
• BPA is often called an endocrine disruptor, meaning it can alter hormone activity.
• BPA is also found in epoxy resins, which line the inside of some metal food and beverage cans.
• In the early 2000s, a national survey found almost all Americans had BPA in their urine.

Sources: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH): Environmental Factor - November 2021: Insight into endocrine disruptor bisphenol A advanced by NIEHS ↗ · FDA: Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application ↗

How people are exposed, and how it may affect health

• Most people are exposed to BPA through diet, because it is widely used in food packaging and bottle tops.
• Small amounts of packaging materials can move into food and be eaten with it.
• Exposure can also happen through air, dust, and water.
• FDA studies found that when swallowed, BPA is quickly turned into an inactive form in the body.
• FDA studies found that primates, including humans, break down and remove BPA much faster than rodents.

Sources: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH): Environmental Factor - November 2021: Insight into endocrine disruptor bisphenol A advanced by NIEHS ↗ · FDA: Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application ↗

What people use it for

BPA is a structural part of polycarbonate beverage bottles and is used in metal can coatings that keep food from touching the metal.

Source: FDA: Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application ↗

What the research has found so far

• In an FDA review of more than 300 studies, FDA found nothing to prompt a change in its safety assessment of BPA in food packaging.
• In a rodent study, the FDA's subchronic study found no effects of BPA at any dose in the low-dose range.
• In the CLARITY-BPA core rat study, changes in pituitary and reproductive tissues appeared only at exposures much higher than humans typically have.
• University researchers found many adverse health effects in published papers, while the core study had essentially negative findings at low exposures.
• The CLARITY-BPA authors did not reach a consensus on the combined results.
• University scientists found low-level exposure in rodents changed mammary gland development in ways that may add to cancer risk.

Sources: FDA: Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application ↗ · National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH): Environmental Factor - November 2021: Insight into endocrine disruptor bisphenol A advanced by NIEHS ↗

On bPA and phthalates in plastics and aging, PubMed lists 69 trials in people, 1,547 studies that watched people over time, 1,034 animal and lab studies. See the counts and searches

Side effects and risks

• In the core rat study, changes in pituitary and reproductive tissues were reported, but at exposures much higher than those people typically have.
• In the core rat study, cancer rates in female rats rose at the lowest BPA dose. The authors concluded this was not due to the chemical, because it was not seen at higher doses.
• University scientists found that low-level BPA exposure in rodents changed mammary gland development in ways that may add to cancer risk.
• In rodent studies, BPA increased cancer after a later-life estrogen exposure that simulated the aging human male.
• Studies of the developing male prostate and urethra showed a smaller urethra after exposure to low doses of BPA.
• A rodent study by FDA's research center found no effects of BPA at any dose in the low-dose range.

Sources: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH): Environmental Factor - November 2021: Insight into endocrine disruptor bisphenol A advanced by NIEHS ↗ · FDA: Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application ↗

Who may be more affected

• The National Toxicology Program concluded BPA is of "some concern" for fetuses, infants, and children, regarding the prostate gland, brain, and behavior.
• The FDA says its current view is that BPA is safe at the levels now found in foods.
• Some studies have raised questions about the safety of the low levels of BPA that can migrate into food from packaging.
• A NIEHS article says current guideline studies used for regulatory decisions may not detect all hazards from real-world exposures to chemicals like BPA.

Sources: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH): Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) of 'Some Concern' for Children's Health ↗ · FDA: Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application ↗ · National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH): Environmental Factor - November 2021: Insight into endocrine disruptor bisphenol A advanced by NIEHS ↗

Approval and legal status

FDA's current view is that BPA is safe at the levels currently found in foods. Substances that move from packaging into food, including BPA, need FDA premarket approval as indirect food additives or food contact substances. FDA changed its rules to no longer allow BPA-based polycarbonate resins in baby bottles and sippy cups. FDA also ended authorization of BPA-based epoxy resins as coatings in infant formula packaging. FDA says these changes were based on abandonment of the uses, not on safety.

Source: FDA: Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application ↗

Questions to ask your doctor

• Is my exposure to bPA and phthalates in plastics something to think about, given my health?
• Is there a test that measures it, and would it tell us anything useful?
• Which ways of lowering exposure are worth the effort, and which aren't?
• Is anything in my home, work or diet likely to be a big source?