BPA Listed as Toxic by Canada

Ottawa formally adds bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in plastic, to the Toxic Substances List.
BPA Listed as Toxic by Canada
Frederic Scheer, CEO and chairman of Los Angeles-based plastics manufacturer Cereplast, which produces a range of plastics containing no bisphenol-A, a chemical suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
Joan Delaney
10/17/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/bpa94703255.jpg" alt="Frederic Scheer, CEO and chairman of Los Angeles-based plastics manufacturer Cereplast, which produces a range of plastics containing no bisphenol-A, a chemical suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Frederic Scheer, CEO and chairman of Los Angeles-based plastics manufacturer Cereplast, which produces a range of plastics containing no bisphenol-A, a chemical suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1813399"/></a>
Frederic Scheer, CEO and chairman of Los Angeles-based plastics manufacturer Cereplast, which produces a range of plastics containing no bisphenol-A, a chemical suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
It’s official. The Canadian government has declared bisphenol A (BPA) as toxic by adding the chemical to the country’s Toxic Substances List, despite strong industry opposition.

The move comes two years after Canada banned baby bottles that contain bisphenol A, a chemical used to harden plastic that mimics the hormone estrogen and has been shown to cause nervous system and reproductive damage.

In 2008, Canada was the first country in the world to propose taking action against the controversial chemical.

In April of that year, the government released a draft risk assessment concluding that the chemical was “toxic” because of its reproductive and developmental toxicity, and its environmental effects.

The final risk assessment concluded the same thing in Oct. 2008, when it was also proposed that BPA be minimized in industrial effluent releases, limited in infant formula cans, and banned in baby bottles.

Used in hundreds of products, the chemical can leach into food from tin-can linings, plastic food covers, and bottled beverages.

The American Chemistry Council filed a formal notice of objection to scheduling BPA as a toxic substance and demanded a review, but Environment Canada rejected those demands on the grounds that the ACC didn’t present any new scientific data or information on the chemical.

In a statement last Wednesday, the ACC said Environment Canada’s announcement “is contrary to the weight of worldwide scientific evidence, unwarranted, and will unnecessarily confuse and alarm the public.”

“This puts Environment Canada at odds with the recent conclusions of the European Food Safety Authority, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, all of which have concluded that BPA is safe in contact with food,” Steven G. Hentges, Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group of the American Chemistry Council, said in the statement.

Hentges said Canada’s announcement comes just days after the European Food Safety Authority confirmed that BPA is safe for use in food-contact items.

Toronto-based Environmental Defence, which has actively lobbied for a ban on the chemical in food and beverage containers for the past five years, praised the government’s decision.

“Three cheers for our country’s continuing leadership on this dangerous substance,” Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence, said in a press release.

“We look forward to now working with the federal government to take the next important step: banning BPA from all metal food and beverage cans since these can leach it into our food.”

According to Environmental Defence, Canada’s leadership on BPA has had a ripple effect around the world. In the United States, two bills addressing BPA have been introduced in Congress and numerous state legislatures have passed similar statutes, some of which go so far as to ban the chemical in all reusable food and beverage containers.

France and Denmark have also taken action on its use in baby bottles, and bills have been introduced in Belgium and the United Kingdom. In November, the World Health Organization and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization are holding an expert meeting in Ottawa to review BPA’s health effects.

After two German studies finding that BPA was not hazardous however, Germany has decided not to act against the chemical.

The ACC maintains BPA is one of the most thoroughly tested chemicals in commerce, with studies showing that the chemical is quickly metabolized, excreted, and does not accumulate in the body.

A recent U.S. study found BPA in 40 percent of paper receipts issued at cash machines and fast food check-outs—exposure levels 250 to 1,000 times greater than from food cans or plastic containers.

A Statistics Canada study released in August revealed that 91 percent of people tested positive for BPA in their urine, with the highest concentrations in children.

However, Health Canada concluded in 2008 that “the current dietary exposure to BPA through food packaging uses is not expected to pose a health risk to the general population, including newborns and infants.”

In 2008, Environment Canada scientists found that BPA is entering the environment through wastewaters, washing residues and leachate from landfills. It also breaks down slowly in the environment when there is a lack of oxygen. Environment Canada said the combination of the slow breakdown of BPA and its wide use in Canada means that over time, the chemical could build up and harm fish and other organisms.

In Oct. 2008, the Canadian government allocated $1.7 million over the next three years to fund research projects on BPA in the hopes of addressing “key knowledge gaps” regarding the chemical in both the Canadian and international scientific community.

“The Government of Canada has a strong record of taking action on Bisphenol A to protect the environment and health of Canadians,” said Environment Minister Jim Prentice in a release last Thursday. “We are continuing our leadership on this issue and Canadians can rest assured that we are working hard to monitor and manage Bisphenol A.”
Joan Delaney is Senior Editor of the Canadian edition of The Epoch Times based in Toronto. She has been with The Epoch Times in various roles since 2004.
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