FDA ignored evidence when calling BPA safe

[struggle4progress]

Source: USA Today

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

... The excluded studies suggest bisphenol A, or BPA, could pose harm to children at levels at least 10 times lower than the amount the agency says is safe, according to the report written by outside scientists asked to review the agency's handling of the controversial substance.

The scientists took the FDA to task for basing its safety decision in August on three industry-funded studies. Another government agency, the National Toxicology Program, decided many other independent studies deserved consideration. The toxicology program concluded last month there is "some concern" that BPA alters development of the brain, prostate and behavior in children and fetuses.

The expert panel also found the FDA underestimated how much BPA babies ingest on several counts. For one, the agency failed to consider the cumulative effect of being exposed to BPA from dozens of products, a fundamental error that "severely limits the usefulness" of the FDA's safety estimate ...

The new report was written by a subcommittee of the FDA's outside science board, experts who advise the FDA on complex issues. The full science board, scheduled to meet Friday, can endorse the subcommittee's report or write its own ...

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-10-28-bpa-fda_N.htm

[Muttocracy]

1. I heard a toxicologist speak about this recently. Her takehome messages

...switch to stainless steel water bottles, and don't ever heat food or drink in plastic containers (not just polycarbonate, though those are the ones with BPA in particular).

[Muttocracy]

2. NYT has similar article

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/health/policy/30plastic.html

[struggle4progress]

3. thanx!

[Caradoc]

5. Banned...

BPA has already been banned in Canada, and there was a fight about that, but once the public got wind of its effects, it was all over.

[lovuian]

6. The FDA EPA USDA FBI and CIA are all going to be tryed

for their crimes against humanity

they have been responsible for so many US citizens distress

[dysfunctional press]

8. i would rather have them tried.

as in a court of law.

[bluebutterfly]

10. BPA ban in Canada

Wrong information in this article. Canada...Oct
18/08..declared BPA a toxic chemical.
No longer allowed in any infant products.
Canada is the first country to do this.

[Muttocracy]

16. you're right - and it's one thing that may help reduce BPA in the U.S.

Canada and the EU banning compounds can lead manufacturers to phase them out even it they're not banned here yet, for manufacturing simplicity.

[Lorien]

14. A snip:

BPA is widely used to make hard, clear plastic water bottles and baby bottles, and it is found in the lining of nearly every soft drink and canned food product. The chemical appears to have estrogen-like effects, and in animal studies it appears to accelerate puberty and pose a cancer risk.

While most worries about BPA focus on children, some reports suggest BPA may interfere with chemotherapy, and in adults the chemical has been tied to higher risk for heart disease and diabetes. The drug agency has said the levels of BPA to which children and adults are exposed do not pose a meaningful risk.

This fall, the agency asked an independent panel of scientific advisers to review its conclusions on BPA. The seven-member panel includes environmental health, toxicology and statistics experts from three major universities, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These are among the concerns raised by the panel:

¶The F.D.A. assessment does not have an adequate number of infant-formula samples and relies too heavily on averages, rather than accounting for variability in the samples.

¶The agency excluded several important animal studies that raised questions about the safety of BPA.

¶New research on BPA in adult humans and animals was published after the F.D.A.’s draft report and should be included.

¶The margins of safety for BPA exposure used by the agency are “inadequate.”

(snip)

imho it's insane to allow this substance near beverages or food at all. Many DUers scoff at those of us who invest $25 in a Sigg bottle, but what about the long term cost to our health if we choose bottled water over Brita or Pur water and a Sigg bottle (which is cheaper in the long run anyway)?

http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp?Category=3&PageAction=VIEWCATS

[Muttocracy]

15. Plastic for small containers of bottled water doesn't contain BPA although

big water cooler jugs are often made with polycarbonate (the BPA plastic). And other plastics can also leach compounds into water when heated (e.g., hot sunny car...)

The toxicologist I heard wasn't crazy about Sigg bottles which are aluminum rather than stainless steel, but I'm forgetting what specifically she didn't like; will try to find out.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/ask/nalgene

[Lorien]

17. Sigg makes both aluminum and stainless steel bottles

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/sigg-thermo-bottle-cool-black-reusable-thermal-bottle-p-1020.html

and from most articles I've read, the majority of small disposable water bottles do contain BPA.

I would like to hear why your toxicologist doesn't like aluminum Sigg bottles, since they are guaranteed not to contaminate any beverage. :shrug:

[Muttocracy]

18. BPA is in polycarbonate (one of the type 7 "other" plastics) not HDPE/LDPE

type 1, 2 plastics (mentioned in that USA Today article in the OP). There are other things in other plastics but all polycarbonate has BPA, and BPA is in all polycarbonate, nearly all food can linings, and dental sealants (!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/health/21well.html

Will try to find out the Sigg bottle info - was thinking it was about the lining but I'm not sure. It was definitely better than polycarbonate (the hard brittle plastics)

On edit - Sigg bottles may contain BPA - they won't say they don't, just that it doesn't leach a detectable amount:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/are-sigg-aluminum-bottles-bpa-free.php

Some plastic thermos manufacturers are now lining their containers with silver BPA-containing coatings to trick people into thinking they're stainless steel!

[Lorien]

19. From the testing it looks like Sigg is honest: they don't contain BPA:

SIGG also hired an independent lab test their bottles against the competition:

"Under harsh conditions to simulate time and use, the results were as follows:

• Polycarbonate #7 plastic bottles – 71 ppb (parts per billion) were leached into the water.
• Chinese-made aluminum water bottles – 19 ppb
• New SIGG bottles – no detectable BPA
• Used SIGG bottles (2 years old) – no detectable BPA"

Does this mean they are not made with BPA? Not necessarily, it could just mean that they make them well and polymerize all of the BPA, in which case there would be no leaching, and that the layer is really thin compared to an entire plastic bottle so that there isn't much there to start with. We certainly prefer an open and transparent answer and Wasik gets this:

"Despite the scientific evidence that SIGG bottles are 100% safe, I understand the desire of some people to know more about the proprietary SIGG liner. As our Swiss supplier insists on protecting his formula & keeping it confidential, I have commenced the process of exploring new suppliers."

Conclusion: We are not sure if the lining of SIGG bottles is made with BPA or not, but we like the results of the testing, which is what really matters. Just be certain to buy the real thing and not a knock-off. Download a PDF of the full SIGG response here.


(snip)

So they can continue to cast doubt, but if testing can't turn up any evidence of BPA then it becomes a case of trying to prove a negative.

I continue to feel far safer drinking Pur filtered water from my Sigg bottles-plus it's a heck of a lot kinder to the planet than buying bottled water.

[Muttocracy]

20. definitely better than bottled water on many fronts! I wish Sigg would just say

"we don't line our bottles with BPA"

[Snazzy]

4. kick for cancer

:kick:

Let us not actually analyze anything. --Shrug-- The market will take care of all.

People die, babies get deformed, and that's their own damn fault.

Regulations in any form are bad. Let's drown government in the bathtub, and while we're waiting for the coroner, let's be sure to populate regulatory agencies with flacks--you know, (wink) "our kind."

Don't just deny but fight science whenever and wherever possible; hell, kick science in the balls. And above all, protect wealth. As true flag waving Americans (good job on the flag waving, by the way), you too may be wealthy one day, if you would just do us the courtesy of shutting the fuck up and not asking too many questions you can maybe join the 1%.

Endorse leaders who agree with these principles, leaders just like Joe, someone we all want to have a beer with, maybe even rub his bald head (but not in a homoerotic way of course). Joe knows science is bull shit, and he will kick your ass if you start talking that college shit ever again. Fuck book learnin'. Fuck books. Faith will guide us. Joe says intellectuals are suspects and Joe knows God and he talks to him often. Joe says God says greed is the ideal way to organize society and if you ain't with him you against him and pallin' around with terrorists.

The obligatory :sarcasm:

[Judi Lynn]

11. As Palin gibbered Tuesday, Americans need to start trusting their "gut" more!

That's the ticket.

As you say, fuck books, and all that crap. Go with your gut. It'll save a lot of time otherwise tied up needlessly in thinking, and trying to decide what's right.

If you don't trust the market, if you don't trust your gut, yer with the terrorists.

[Snazzy]

13. I present to you Karl Marx, the undisputed father of Socialism

Notice what's up with his hand, what it is that he searches for? Yep, his gut. He cannot find his gut.

QED.

[machI]

7. When I read 'industry-funded studies' the first thing I think of is

Golf trips to the Bahamas, and management retreats in Aspen during the winter.

But events like that would never influence Government decision makers to approve a product for general use.

[lazyriver]

9. "Bush's FDA"...that's all I've got to say about that. K&R

[Judi Lynn]

12. These people can't possibly leave soon enough. It will take decades to recover. n/t