And now for some good news. Today, France adopted a ban on certain uses of two widely used hormone disrupting chemicals: Bisphenol A (BPA), and the plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP for short. Both BPA and DEHP are primarily used to make plastics—polycarbonate and PVC, respectively. Millions of tons of each chemical are produced and used per year around the world, eventually finding their way into people (findings for BPA here, and DEHP here). There are far too many specific uses to list them all here, but the French legislation applies to specific uses that give rise to exposure during critical windows of development for children: food contact surfaces for BPA (e.g. baby bottles and epoxy linings of can for food and beverages), and DEHP in “tubes” (e.g. IV tubing) in medical facilities for pregnant women or children.
Hormone or, more technically, endocrine disruption is an inherent property of hundreds of chemicals, some of which have been banned due to their downstream effects such as cancer or effects on reproduction, but most of which remain in widespread use. The U.S. based organization TEDX has identified over 800 chemicals with at least one peer-reviewed study demonstrating endocrine disrupting properties.
BPA is one of the most studied chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties. BPA is associated with an increased risk for numerous adverse effects, effects that are increasingly occurrence among the people across the globe. The myriad of adverse effects include: cardiovascular disease, miscarriages, breast and prostate cancer, reproductive dysfunction, metabolic dysfunction and diabetes, and neurological and behavioral disorders. Some of the disturbing genital deformations associated with phthalate exposure have earned the title of “phthalate syndrome.” Other potential adverse effects include cancer, obesity, diabetes, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders, although human studies have been limited.
The measures adopted in France will:
• Ban BPA from products that will come into “direct contact” with food for those under the age of three by 1st January 2013;
• Ban BPA from all other products that will come into “direct contact” with food by 1st January 2015;
• Require labeling of these products if they contain BPA during the interim period; and
• Remove DEHP from medical tubing used in pediatric, maternity and neonatal hospitals by 1st July 2015.
Just a few months ago, governments, representatives of chemical manufacturers, international organizations, and civil society issued a consensus statement about “the potential adverse effects of endocrine disruptors on human health and the environment [… and] the need to protect humans, and ecosystems and their constituent parts that are especially vulnerable.”
France’s decision is a step in the right direction, moving forward in a precautionary manner and avoiding further “paralysis by analysis.” A wealth of information exists about the risks of these and other chemicals of concern; however, the challenge is that the most studied chemicals tend to be the ones that are targeted for additional studies, implying (in the view of some) that existing information is insufficient to take protective measures and delaying action on the full gamut of chemicals of concern that remain on the market. Resources should be diverted to examining more chemicals for their endocrine disrupting properties, such as two structurally similar substitutes for these chemicals – BPS for BPA and DINCH for DEHP (and another phthalate subject to regulation, DINP), as shown below. The French legislation calls for an assessment of alternatives for BPA before July 1, 2014.
Originally posted on December 13, 2012.