5 Reasons to Ban BPA ...

... and erectile dysfunction is not one of them.

November 16, 2009 at 10:43AM by Marion Nestle | comment

The newspapers and the Internet are full of reports that men exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) have higher levels of erectile dysfunction. Before going into a panic, take a look at the study details. This one was a survey of factory workers in China exposed to exceptionally high levels of this endocrine-disrupting chemical.

(BPA is found in many plastics, food packaging and in the lining of most cans.)

What does the study mean for men exposed to much lower levels? We don’t have a clue. But we’ve heard plenty of unsettling things about BPA (see previous posts), including accounts by Jill Richardson and others of the extraordinary efforts of industry lobbyists to prevent officials from banning BPA. This new research suggests that a ban is a pretty good idea, even if most people are not harmed by small amounts.

Reasons?

BPA is not essential in the human diet.
It is an unnecessary contaminant.
Small amounts of harmful chemicals can accumulate in the body.
We have no idea what the threshold for harm might be.
Removing it from the food and water supply is not all that difficult.

In sum, everyone except makers of BPA plastics can do just fine without it. I’m stuck; I can’t think of a single reason not to ban it.

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tags: bisphenol a, bpa, cans, canned goods

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Marion Nestle

Noted author Marion Nestle is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of What to Eat.
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