Recent studies from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that 93% of tested people over the age of six out of 2,517 had BPA in their systems via urinalysis tests.
Additionally infants were found to be exposed to BPA at higher rates due to the use of plastic baby bottles.
BPA is bisphenol-A, which is found in hard plastics such as beverage packaging, cans, dental work components, and plastic utensils and is potentially harmful when exposed to for a lengthy period of time.
BPA is usually consumed when one consumes beverages or food that has been heated in a plastic container or has been exposed to heat continuously causing the plastic to break down and release BPA such as heated wash cycles in a dishwasher or microwave use.
Most studies of BPA have concentrated on the effects of BPA on infant lab mice with findings that show even low levels of BPA can affect behavior and brain development.
In animals, BPA has also been found to change the normal process of reproductive and hormonal systems in the lab animals which includes lowered sperm count, early puberty, and an increase in fertility problems in females.
However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared that the amounts of current BPA exposure are not high enough to ban the use of plastic that contains BPA properties altogether.
Yet, the US Health and Human Services Toxicology Program still found there is concern among infant exposure leading to the FDA to reopen the review of BPA exposure to humans.
In the meantime, some US states have already banned BPA use in baby products and the Canadian government has classified BPA as a toxic substance taking proactive measures to reduce its use overall.
Its effects are believed to be most drastic on babies who drink milk from containers made of BPA products.
