Making BPA Go Away

BPA has been banned in Canada for baby bottles and a tinned goods ban using BPA is to follow on a schedule. The ban will affect all manufacturing within Canada and the import of such goods. BPA acts as an endocrine disruptor mimicking estrogen. There is a current international health symposium on the use BPA taking place in Montreal.

The problem of BPA in the environment is that it persists and in some areas in Europe (Holland) it is at levels that are beginning to harm fish. BPA survives normal sewage treatment and septic systems. Its entry into the environment has a very good chance of becoming a bio-accumulator. We did use in lead in paints, gasoline and "plumbing" before we understood the effects. These issues with lead are now well documented. BPA is today's lead and we are just beginning to understand the effects. Personally, I do not need the exposure to the BPA even if the full impact is yet to be understood. It will be difficult to stop all exposure in food and beverages but I like the early start on banning it for those applications. It is always good to keep the industry alert to potential problems, especially when there is evidence of harm.