Toxic Nation | Pollution. It's In You.

Last October, we posted a blog titled, Beware of BPA When Buying? about the average cash register using BPA-receipt technology (not all cash registers do) having 60 - 100 mg of the substance available and ready for uptake. This may occur through the skin or by being transferred onto food and ingested.

Canada took the international lead on BPA action back in 2008. With last week’s announcement that France has suspended the sale of baby bottles containing BPA (French), and news that New York State is well on its way to doing so, Canada’s early action is being justified by growing global BPA action.

It's true - bisphenol A (BPA) has not yet been added to the federal government’s Toxic Substances List. Chemicals on the Toxic Substances List must be managed in Canada while those that are not on the list may or may not be managed depending on things such as provincial regulations.

Riding on yesterday's post about bisphenol A (BPA) movement in the U.S. and Denmark, today, Canada published a notice that polycarbonate baby bottles containing BPA have been legally banned from advertisement, sale, and importation into Canada since March 11, 2010. So following on its earlier global lead in proposing such action, Canada has just become the first country to fully enforce BPA restrictions!

This past week has been a bad one for BPA, but another affirmative one for Canada.

For those of you watching or reading the news last week, you’ve probably come across a couple of BPA stories making the media rounds. Regardless of whether you have or haven’t seen them, know that both are significant in that they further vindicate Canada’s earlier position on the substance (that it’s harmful) and that they contribute to building momentum for broader BPA bans (including the need to get it out of all food and beverage containers).

A multi-year study which examined 634 workers in China found that workers in BPA manufacturing facilities, in comparison to those working in facilities where no BPA was present, had more than four times the risk of erectile dysfunction, more than seven times the risk of ejaculation difficulty, and almost four times the risk of reduced sexual desire and overall satisfaction with their sex life. Increasing BPA exposure was associated with increasing sexual dysfunction risk.

BPA, the hormone-mimicking chemical banned from baby bottles in Canada is also known to be used for carbonless copy papers (i.e., most cash-register and credit-card receipts) and thermal imaging papers. These may potentially be another significant source of exposure that requires addressing.

A new study conducted by a team of researchers, including Bruce Lanphear from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Canada, found that daughters born to women who had higher bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations in their urine during pregnancy were more likely to have aggressive and hyperactive behaviours than those born to women who had lower BPA concentrations.

Health Canada testing has found bisphenol A (BPA) in jarred baby food with metal lids and some polycarbonate bottles of drinking water. The compound was detected in 84% of samples.