Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Plastic World - BPA'd To Death

"I have seen the results of this culture's quest for immortality, and these results are not pretty. We have achieved a sort of immortality, and it's name is plastic."    Derrick Jensen

But this 'immortality' is killing everything, including us!

From the book, What We Leave Behind by Derrick Jensen and Aric McBay
Industrial civilization pumps out about 6 billion pounds of BPA per year, and it's found in nearly every human being, and presumably a similar proportion of nonhumans (not that most of us particularly care about them). The effects on living beings are horrific. Exposure levels of only .025 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (at this point low levels of human exposure from diet are around 1.5 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day, and relatively high levels are around 13; of course prior to the invention of plastic, everyone's ingestion was at precisely zero micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day) cause permanent changes to the genital tract, as well as changes in breast tissue that predispose cells to the effects of hormones and carcinogens. Two micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day lead to a 30 percent increased in prostate weight (have you wondered why there are so many ads for chemicals to reduce the effects of enlarged prostates?). At 2.4, the victims (for that's what they, or rather we, are) suffer early puberty and a decline in testicular testosterone. At 2.5, there is an increased risk of breast cancer (and you have noticed the explosion in breast cancer rates, have you not?). Doses of 10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day lead to increased risk of prostate cancer (Do I need to keep putting in the parenthetical comments, or do you see this now in your own life and the lives of those you love?). That same does leads to decreases in maternal behavior. Double it and you've got damage to eggs and chromosomes. Raise it up to thirty micrograms per kilogram per day and you've got hyperactivity, and also a reversal of normal sex differences in brain structure (where are those damn family values people when you need them?). Raise it all the way up to fifty-one micrograms per kilogram and you've finally exceeded what the United Stated deems safe exposure.
The real kicker: 51 MICROGRAMS PER KILOGRAM AND YOU'VE FINALLY EXCEEDED WHAT THE UNITED STATES DEEMS SAFE EXPOSURE! This is a good reminder that the US government certainly is not looking out for my best interests!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Thanks For Your Purchase, Here's Your BPA Receipt

I wanted to continue the discussion about bisphenol A (BPA). In addition to plastic bottles, toys, and food can linings, bisphenol A can be found in the chemical coating on thermal papers - the type used in cash registers that turn color when exposed to heat.

Just a reminder that bisphenol A is considered an endocrine disruptor because it mimics estrogen, a natural hormone, and may fool the body by stimulating reactions that are unnecessary and potentially harmful. Scientists have linked BPA to a higher incidence of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities in adults as well as brain and hormone development problems in fetuses and young children. Other tests have shown that BPA can promote human breast cancer cell growth, decrease sperm counts in rats, and cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men.

From the article: EWG Tests Find High BPA Loads on Receipts

Laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG) have found high levels of the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) on 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses and services, including outlets of McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, WalMart, Safeway and the U.S. Postal Service. Receipts from Target, Starbucks, Bank of America ATMs and other enterprises were BPA-free or contained only trace amounts.

The total amounts of BPA on receipts tested were 250 to 1,000 times greater than other, more widely discussed sources of BPA exposure, including canned foods, baby bottles and infant formula.

Wipe tests conducted by the lab easily removed BPA, indicating that the chemical could rub off on the hands of a person handling the receipt.

Several recent studies have shown than BPA is easily absorbed into the body through the skin. Once BPA makes it through your layers of skin, it has easy access to your bloodstream.

A study published July 11 by scientists with the Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zürich in Switzerland found that BPA transfers readily from receipts to skin and can penetrate the skin to such a depth that it cannot be washed off. This raises the possibility that the chemical infiltrates the skin's lower layers to enter the bloodstream directly.

As a consumer, we're often asked if we want our receipt. We say "yes" right? Or push that 'yes' button on the gas pump. And then what do you do with those receipts? Save them? Trash them? How many times do you actually need the receipt? On a side note, don't recycle the BPA receipts because traces of BPA are now being found in 'recycled' paper.

Solutions? You could start reducing your exposure by not getting the receipt! Which also saves paper and the extra handling of that toxic 'goodie' not only by you but the cashier too. Imagine how much BPA a cashier is being exposed to by the repetitive handling of receipts. Being a new cashier myself, I'm overjoyed that Ukiah Natural Foods receipts are BPA free (there is only one company that makes the thermal imaging receipts without the BPA residue). Yeah for UNF!
You may also choose to shop and support businesses where you can get receipts that do not have the BPA residue!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Celebrity Petrochemical Perfume

Yet another follow up to 'Fragrance'. I first talked about it in my October 12, 2010 blog titled Fragrance - It's A Bad Word

From the article, Celebrity-branded perfumes loaded with toxic petrochemicals:

The Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973 explicitly exempts manufacturers of cosmetics and personal care products from having to disclose any of the ingredients used to give fragrance to their products, as long as "fragrance" is listed in on the label. 
Upon request from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the Environmental Working Group sent 17 brand-name perfumes to be tested by the independent laboratory Analytical Sciences. Thirteen of the perfumes had been purchased in the United States, and four had been purchased in Canada.

Researchers uncovered 40 different chemicals in the perfume samples, in addition to the 51 listed on product labels. Of the 40 ingredients found, only two were listed on the label of every product containing them; the other 38 were unlisted on at least one of the 17 labels.

Even more seriously, researchers uncovered 10 chemicals known to disrupt the hormonal (endocrine) system, with each perfume containing an average of four. The perfumes Halle by Halle Berry, Quicksilver and Jennifer Lopez J. Lo Glow all contained seven different endocrine disruptors -- six estrogen mimics and a thyroid disruptor.
For more details, read the full article at the link above!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Got Safe Toys?

As the Holiday season nears,

Are we giving our children safe toys? Free of toxins and dangerous components? Are we showing our children what truly matters isn’t the gift itself but the love embedded in the act of giving?
From the Climate Counts blog: Is There Room for a Holiday Climate Message For Our Kids?

A gift free of toxins and filled with thoughtful love is the best way to say Healthy Holidays to those special kids in your life!