BPA Regulation
By Lisa Zhou
This page covers an introduction to BPA exposure, the history of regulation in the US, a comparison of US and EU policies, and reasons why BPA regulation is difficult to pass in the US. We also suggest ways to improve BPA regulation.
Mechanism of Exposure
The most common form of exposure is through diet when food comes in contact with plastic through plastic wrap or packaging (3). With ingestion, the release of BPA from the plastic depends on multiple factors: temperature, contact time between packaging and food, food composition, and type of contact (1). BPA undergoes diffusion or hydrolysis when the product is catalyzed by hydroxide upon coming in contact with aqueous food (1). Other exposures include inhalation of air and dust, through the skin, medical devices, or children toys (3). BPA regulation is important to the work of Pregnancy, Baby and You because it’s been seen to cross the placental barrier and has adverse effects in children from both maternal exposure and exposure during childhood. Common consequences in children include childhood obesity and coronary heart disease (1).
History of BPA Regulation
The history of BPA regulation in the US and general lack of it demonstrate how EDC research is recent, new, and often conflicting, making it difficult to enact policy even when many associations between BPA and negative health outcomes have been established. Since BPA is most commonly ingested, the first piece of legislation relevant to BPA control is the 1958 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act which prohibited chemicals that could contaminate food at all stages (1). Early research showed that the level of BPA exposure humans interact with is not enough to result in negative health outcomes. However, recent research such as the publication of CLARITY-BPA research program’s work found that developmental exposure to BPA at low doses that do not exceed regulatory limits considered safe can contribute to brain and behavioral change (1).
Transnational Comparison: Risk VS Hazard Assessment
The EU and the US typically approach exposure assessment from two different angles. The EU hopes to minimize human exposure, using the precautionary principle as guidance. The precautionary principle would rather enact regulation on a chemical that doesn’t have full proof of adverse consequences yet than not act at all (2). This is treating an exposure as a hazard. On the other hand, the US follows risk-based regulation which waits to minimize human exposure unless there’s a clear overarching definition of the chemical as an EDC and specific pre-marketing test requirements (2).
Why is BPA Regulation so Challenging to Enact?
Scientific Research
In general, EDC research is difficult to conduct due to how varied the level and mechanism of exposure are. It’s challenging for research to replicate how humans are exposed in the environment in the laboratory due to the cocktail effect and confounding factors (1). Therefore, many studies attempting to demonstrate the adverse effects of BPA are hard to replicate and generate consensus. The US also relies on traditional endpoints of toxicity that fail to recognize BPA’s harmful consequences. Reliance on traditional regulatory studies invalidate the significance of non-monotonic dose response curves and how BPA may cause adverse effects at low doses (1). As seen above, misalignment in policies transnationally and even across American health protection agencies slow down consensual policy change. Lastly, a wide part of research in the US is controlled by the interests of powerful leaders in industry. Since BPA is crucial to any industry that manufactures plastics, opinions by industry leaders make it difficult to ban or decrease the safe level of BPA allowed in products.
Industry Influence
Although research demonstrating the adverse effects of BPA has increased over the past years, BPA is still predicted to have a compound annual growth rate of 7.8% between 2021 and 2026 (1). Technological innovation motivates the increase of plastic use, and the presence of BPA is driven by the automotive industry, machinery, and electronic components (1). Stakeholders in industry will try to halt the regulation of BPA for capitalistic and consumerist reasons as BPA is necessary for generating revenue from their products.
Hazard V Risk Assessment
The US historically takes the approach of risk assessment over hazard assessment. Rather than acting with the precautionary principle in mind, the US waits until there is ample, concrete evidence discounting a chemical before passing actionable regulation (2). Because of the US’ approach towards chemical assessment and the challenges of EDC research, this makes BPA regulation difficult to pass.
Contact your representative about increasing BPA regulation:
This 2022 PETITION is the most recent pressure set on the FDA about BPA regulation, calling the agency to rescind its approval of BPA on food packaging and set strict limits of BPA and food contact (4).
Follow these organizations that joined as a coalition to formally submit this petition: Environmental Defense Fund, the Endocrine Society, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund, Consumer Reports, Environmental Working Group, Healthy Babies Bright Futures, Dr. Maricel Maffini, and Dr. Linda Birnbaum
