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posted by mrpg on Monday September 17 2018, @09:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the as-it-always-is dept.

BPA-free plastics may not be safer than regular plastics after all, a new study finds

Consumers turning to plastics made with alternatives to BPA in the hope that they're safer won't like what they're about to hear.

A new study [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.070] [DX], published in the journal Current Biology, concluded that common alternatives to BPA caused harmful effects in mice, notably in their reproductive cells. The findings add to the mounting body of evidence that these alternatives carry their own health risks. As Science noted, if further research on animals and humans continues to support these findings, it could derail efforts to reassure the many consumers already nervous about the plastics in their food and drink containers that there are safe options to choose from.

The issue has been one of major concern in recent years, in part because of the work of Patricia Hunt, the Washington State University geneticist who led the team behind the new research. She first helped draw attention to the possible perils of BPA—bisphenol A in its long form—after stumbling on them by accident.

From the paper:

DuPont's 20th century slogan "better living through chemistry" has been borne out. Remarkable technical advances allow us to synthesize molecules and create subtle variations in them. Innovation, however, has outpaced our ability to understand the implications of the release of rapidly generated families of structurally similar chemicals into our environment. Our data add to and extend the growing concern about the harmful reproductive effects of one such family, the bisphenols. Although most data derive from rodent studies, given the developmental and reproductive similarities, concerns almost certainly extend to humans. Importantly, bisphenols are not the only chemical family with an ever-increasing array of diverse members; other prominent environmental contaminant families include the parabens, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), phthalates, flame retardants, and quaternary ammonium compounds.

The ability to rapidly enhance the properties of a chemical has tremendous potential for treating cancer, enhancing medical and structural materials, and controlling dangerous infectious agents. Importantly, this technology has paved the way for "green chemistry," a healthier future achieved by engineering chemicals to ensure against hazardous effects. Currently, however, regulatory agencies charged with assessing chemical safety cannot keep pace with the introduction of new chemicals. Further, as replacement bisphenols illustrate, it is easier and more cost effective under current chemical regulations to replace a chemical of concern with structural analogs rather than determine the attributes that make it hazardous.

Also at Fortune.


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday September 17 2018, @12:29PM (4 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday September 17 2018, @12:29PM (#735940) Journal

    No, wait, we can still avoid plastic.

    Ummm.... a pouch made out of caribou skin!

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  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday September 17 2018, @04:57PM (3 children)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Monday September 17 2018, @04:57PM (#736057) Homepage Journal

    The reason the WWII "Hemp For Victory" campaign was launched is that hemp ropes _float_.

    Whereas it's still largely illegal to grow industrial hemp in the US, Canada has been actively encouraging it for at least fifteen years, quite likely longer.

    The reason weed is called "weed" is that it's a weed: it will grow damn near anywhere, with the very worst soil and not enough water to grow a damn cactus. Gro-Ops are generally irrigated I expect to increase the size of the bud but if all you want is the fiber you don't need irrigation.

    If you buy a rope at a hardware store, that rope is likely made of plastic fiber. Buy a hemp rope instead.

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