双酚A综述(英).docVIP

Bisphenol A Overview Originally produced for use as a synthetic hormone in 1936, today bisphenol A (BPA) is manufactured in excess of six billion pounds per year.? BPA is most commonly used as the building block of polycarbonate plastic for products such as baby bottles and water bottles, epoxy resins (coatings that line food containers), and white dental sealants.? It is also an additive in other types of plastic used to make children’s toys. BPA molecules are bound by ester bonds” to form a polymer used to make polycarbonate plastic.? As the building block of polycarbonate, BPA is the primary chemical in polycarbonate, and it thus does not exist in only trace amounts.? While plastics are typically thought of as stable, scientists have known for many years that the chemical bond between BPA molecules is unstable.? The bond is disrupted by heat and acidic or basic conditions that release BPA into food or beverages in contact with the plastics. In brief, this summary reveals that there is extensive scientific literature reporting adverse effects of BPA at doses lower than the current level considered safe by U.S. EPA, a high rate of leaching of BPA from food and beverage containers, and evidence that the median BPA level in humans is higher than the level that causes adverse effects in lab studies.(1) Children are Most at RiskGrowing children are particularly at risk to chemicals in their environment because they face greater exposure per pound of body weight and are physiologically more susceptible to them.(2)?Children’s exposures begin at conception, as chemicals, including BPA, cross the placenta in a pregnant woman’s body (3)?and can affect the embryo or fetus during critical periods of development.? Even after birth, children’s bodies remain immature, with underdeveloped detoxification mechanisms to protect them from BPA as well as drugs.? Their brains and other organ systems are constantly developing, undergoing periods of particular sensitivity to damage