Bisphenol A in plastic may cause obesity, used in coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans!!

I came across this while studying old refining and hydrocracking.

I highlighted the best parts in RED.

Fortunately the bottled water I am drinking at this very moment of made of PETE (polyethylene terephthalate, ID code #1). and is free of Bisphenol A .

I wonder what happens when you microwave in food this? Where heat would release some chemicals. Like in a tupperware bowl?



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/bpa.html


from wiki:

Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s, concerns about the use of bisphenol A in consumer products was regularly reported in the news media in 2008 when several governments issued reports questioning its safety, and some retailers removed products made from it off their shelves.

Bisphenol A is used primarily to make plastics, and products containing bisphenol A-based plastics have been in commerce for more than 50 years. It is used in the synthesis of polyesters, polysulfones, and polyether ketones, as an antioxidant in some plasticizers, and as a polymerization inhibitor in PVC. It is a key monomer in production of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins.^[4] Polycarbonate plastic, which is clear and nearly shatter-proof, is used to make a variety of common products including baby and water bottles, sports equipment, medical and dental devices, dental fillings and sealants, lenses, CDs and DVDs, and household electronics.
Epoxy resins containing bisphenol A are used as coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans.^[6]

Health effects

Bisphenol A has low acute toxicity, with an oral LD₅₀ of 3250 mg/kg in rats,^[9] but it is an endocrine disruptor.^[10][11] Low doses of bisphenol A can mimic the body's own hormones, possibly causing negative health effects.^[12] There is thus concern that long term low dose exposure to bisphenol A may induce chronic toxicity in humans.^[13][14][15]

Animal studies

The first evidence of the estrogenicity of bisphenol A came from experiments on rats conducted in the 1930s,^[16][17] but it was not until 1997 that adverse effects of low-dose exposure on laboratory animals were first reported.^[6] Since then, its endocrine disrupting properties have been extensively investigated, and more than 100 studies have been published "rais[ing] health concerns" about the chemical.^[18]
Early development appears to be the period of greatest sensitivity to its effects,^[19] and studies have demonstrated developmental toxicity, carcinogenic effects, and possible neurotoxicity at low doses in animal models (see table below).^[20][21] Recent studies suggest it may also be linked to obesity[^22] by triggering fat-cell activity^[23] and have confirmed that bisphenol A exposure during development has carcinogenic effects and produce precursors of breast cancer.^[24][25]

UPDATE 12/21/2011

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/bisphenol_a/index.html