Medical blog » Chemical

Bisphenol A, chemical used to make plastic, lingers in body, study …

admin — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:57:39 +0000

A study being released today finds that bisphenol A, a chemical widely used to make plastic and suspected of causing cancer, stays in the body much longer than previously thought.
The findings are significant because the longer the chemical lingers in the body, the greater chance it has of doing harm, scientists say.
Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York also say the chemical may get into the body from sources such as plastic water pipes or dust from carbonless paper and not only from food containers that leach the chemical when heated.
The study results, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, have sparked a flurry of concern and renewed calls for regulation.
The study reinforces the urgent need for stricter government oversight and regulation of this extremely toxic chemical, said Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy at the Breast Cancer Fund, a health advocacy group. It adds to what we already know about BPA, a chemical so powerful that at extremely low levels parts per billion or even parts per trillion it can cross the placenta and alter the mammary gland of the developing fetus, increasing breast cancer risk later in life.
BPA, used to make baby bottles, dental sealants, food storage containers and thousands of other household products, was found in 93% of Americans tested.
The new study, conducted by Richard Stahlhut at the University of Rochester, used data on humans collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers looked at urine samples of 1,469 U.S. adults. They compared the levels of BPA based on how long the subjects had fasted.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents makers of BPA, maintains that the chemical is safe for all uses. Steven Hentges, spokesman for the trade group, dismissed the study as inherently limited.
The authors conclusions are, at best, speculation, Hentges said. Low levels of BPA found in the data are not a risk to human health.
BPA has been linked to spikes in breast cancer, diabetes and heart disease, even at very low levels. It has also been found to interfere with chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had 10 household products tested and found toxic levels of BPA leaching from all of them.
Canada declared BPA to be a toxin and banned its use in baby bottles last year. In the United States, 14 states are considering similar action.
Federal regulators have been divided on the issue.
A group of scientists from the National Toxicology Program expressed some concern last year about the chemical for infants and children. But the Food and Drug Administration has said BPA is safe for all use.
The newspaper found federal regulators favored industry-financed studies in their assessments. Entire sections of the FDAs assessment contained identical language to reports written on behalf of chemical-makers or others with a financial stake in BPA.
The FDA safety assessment relied on two studies, both paid for by chemical-makers, and ignored hundreds of independent studies that found the chemical to cause harm in laboratory animals.
The FDAs own science advisory board has recommended that the FDA reconsider its ruling. FDA administrators have promised to study the matter further but so far have stood by their assessment.
Stahlhuts study is likely to reignite concerns about the chemicals safety.
This is bound to shake things up, Stahlhut said. It is saying that our risk assessments are wrong. Things we thought we knew arent necessarily so.
The research indicates for the first time that people are either constantly being bombarded with bisphenol A from non-food sources, such as receipts and plastic water piping, or they are storing the chemical in fat cells, unable to get rid of it as quickly as scientists have believed.
It provides evidence that we are being exposed to more BPA than we think and that contaminated food and beverages may not even be the main source of our BPA exposure, said Patricia Hunt, a professor at Washington State University who pioneered studies linking BPA to cancer. Scary, huh?
Scientists previously thought that BPA metabolized quickly, with half the concentration eliminated between four and six hours and all of it gone by 24 hours. Instead, Stahlhut, Shanna Swan, also of Rochester, and Wade Welshons of the University of Missouri-Columbia found that the levels dropped but then leveled off after eight hours and never disappeared.
They hang in there like a London fog, Stahlhut said.

Bisphenol A, chemical used to make plastic, lingers in body, study …

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:02:13 +0000

MILWAUKEE A study being released today finds that bisphenol A, a chemical widely used to make plastic and suspected of causing cancer, stays in the body much longer than previously thought.
The findings are significant because the longer the chemical lingers in the body, the greater chance it has of doing harm, scientists say.
Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York also say the chemical may get into the body from sources such as plastic water pipes or dust from carbonless paper and not only from food containers that leach the chemical when heated.
The study results, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, have sparked a flurry of concern and renewed calls for regulation.
The study reinforces the urgent need for stricter government oversight and regulation of this extremely toxic chemical, said Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy at the Breast Cancer Fund, a health advocacy group. It adds to what we already know about BPA, a chemical so powerful that at extremely low levels parts per billion or even parts per trillion it can cross the placenta and alter the mammary gland of the developing fetus, increasing breast cancer risk later in life.
BPA, used to make baby bottles, dental sealants, food storage containers and thousands of other household products, was found in 93% of Americans tested.
The new study, conducted by Richard Stahlhut at the University of Rochester, used data on humans collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers looked at urine samples of 1,469 U.S. adults. They compared the levels of BPA based on how long the subjects had fasted.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents makers of BPA, maintains that the chemical is safe for all uses. Steven Hentges, spokesman for the trade group, dismissed the study as inherently limited.
The authors conclusions are, at best, speculation, Hentges said. Low levels of BPA found in the data are not a risk to human health.
BPA has been linked to spikes in breast cancer, diabetes and heart disease, even at very low levels. It has also been found to interfere with chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had 10 household products tested and found toxic levels of BPA leaching from all of them.
Canada declared BPA to be a toxin and banned its use in baby bottles last year. In the United States, 14 states are considering similar action.
Federal regulators have been divided on the issue.
A group of scientists from the National Toxicology Program expressed some concern last year about the chemical for infants and children. But the Food and Drug Administration has said BPA is safe for all use.
The newspaper found federal regulators favored industry-financed studies in their assessments. Entire sections of the FDAs assessment contained identical language to reports written on behalf of chemical-makers or others with a financial stake in BPA.
The FDA safety assessment relied on two studies, both paid for by chemical-makers, and ignored hundreds of independent studies that found the chemical to cause harm in laboratory animals.
The FDAs own science advisory board has recommended that the FDA reconsider its ruling. FDA administrators have promised to study the matter further but so far have stood by their assessment.
Stahlhuts study is likely to reignite concerns about the chemicals safety.
This is bound to shake things up, Stahlhut said. It is saying that our risk assessments are wrong. Things we thought we knew arent necessarily so.
The research indicates for the first time that people are either constantly being bombarded with bisphenol A from non-food sources, such as receipts and plastic water piping, or they are storing the chemical in fat cells, unable to get rid of it as quickly as scientists have believed.
It provides evidence that we are being exposed to more BPA than we think and that contaminated food and beverages may not even be the main source of our BPA exposure, said Patricia Hunt, a professor at Washington State University who pioneered studies linking BPA to cancer. Scary, huh?
Scientists previously thought that BPA metabolized quickly, with half the concentration eliminated between four and six hours and all of it gone by 24 hours. Instead, Stahlhut, Shanna Swan, also of Rochester, and Wade Welshons of the University of Missouri-Columbia found that the levels dropped but then leveled off after eight hours and never disappeared.
They hang in there like a London fog, Stahlhut said.

FDA Will Continue To Study Chemical

admin — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:20:04 +0000

The agency has been reviewing its risk assessments for bisphenol A, a chemical used to harden plastic that is found in a wide variety of products, from baby bottles to compact discs to the lining of canned goods. The chemical, commonly called BPA, mimics estrogen and may disrupt the body’s carefully calibrated endocrine system.
BPA is found in the urine of more than 90 percent of the U.S. population, according to data from the
. Scientists believe it is most easily ingested after leaching from plastic containers into food and drink. In September, the first large study of BPA in humans found that people with higher levels of bisphenol A had higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities.
Over the past decade, more than 130 studies have linked BPA to breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, neurological problems and other disorders. Much of the new research suggests that BPA has an effect at very low doses — lower than the current safety standard set by the FDA. The most prominent finding was by the National Toxicology Program, part of the
, which reported that there is “some concern” that BPA may affect the brain and behavioral development of fetuses, infants and young children.
The FDA has maintained that BPA is safe, relying largely on two studies that were funded by the chemical industry.
In October, the FDA was faulted by its own panel of independent science advisers, who said the agency’s position on BPA was scientifically flawed. The panel said the agency should revisit its assessment and take into account the studies it had ignored.
Yesterday, Laura Tarantino, director of the FDA’s Office of Food Additive Safety, said the FDA will respond to that recommendation by performing additional analysis. She said she did not know if it would last months or years.
“I can’t tell you when we will finalize this,” she said. “There is a lot of work.”
She said one aspect the agency will examine is the cumulative BPA exposure a person faces from numerous everyday items regulated by the FDA — among them food and beverage containers, plastic medical devices such as tubing, and coatings on gel tablets.
Advocacy groups said the federal agency is squandering time and money.
“More years of research by FDA to determine what thousands of scientists worldwide already know about the toxic chemical is a waste of time, taxpayer dollars, and will place millions of babies yet to be born at risk,” said Alex Formuzis, a spokesman for the
.
Urvashi Rangan, senior scientist at
, said the government ought to ban BPA in products intended for infants and children, whose developing bodies are thought to be most vulnerable to the impact of estrogen-mimicking chemicals such as BPA.
“This is science happening in slow motion,” Rangan said. “There is a lot of evidence happening out here already to suggest vulnerable populations should not have to continue consuming BPA.”
Political pressure on the FDA to ban BPA is growing. Several states have introduced bans of BPA in various products, and in the next Congress,
(D-Mass.) and
(D-N.Y.) are expected to reintroduce bills to ban BPA. Canada declared BPA a “toxic substance” and plans to ban it from baby bottles. A coalition of health and environmental groups meeting with President-elect
’s transition team is pushing a BPA ban as a top priority.
A number of retailers and manufacturers, meanwhile, have been offering BPA-free alternatives.

ExxonMobil Chemical's Vistamaxx Specialty Elastomers and Resins …

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:39:24 +0000

specialty elastomers and resins targeted at flexible and rigid food
packaging applications have received approval from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food Contact Notification process.
These grades, used in compounding and films, are also compliant with the
compositional requirements of the EU-Directive 2002/72/EC for use in
contact with food.
metallocene technology, Vistamaxx
specialty elastomers and resins offer a unique combination of
sealability, adhesion, elasticity, flexibility, clarity and toughness.
They also exhibit excellent compatibility with both polyethylene and
polypropylene and are used as blend partners.
outstanding film sealing performance stemming from broad compatibility,
very low seal initiation temperature and high hot-tack. Typical
applications for Vistamaxx specialty elastomers include food containers,
kitchen tools and utensils, and toys. As Vistamaxx polymers improve
flexibility and impact resistance without affecting tensile strength,
they can help prevent cracking in these types of applications.
ExxonMobil Chemical has responded to the
needs of customers who are either looking to add flexibility and
strength to their food contact products or improve food packaging seals.
Compliance to FDA regulations and the European Plastics Directive are
important steps forward, opening up new global market opportunities,
said William Ramsey, Vistamaxx global market development manager,
ExxonMobil Chemical.
s
premier petrochemical companies with manufacturing, technology, and
marketing operations around the world. The company delivers a broad
portfolio of products and solutions efficiently and responsibly, with a
commitment to create outstanding customer and shareholder value.
ExxonMobil Chemical endorses the principles of sustainable development,
including the need to balance economic growth, social development and
environmental considerations. To learn more, visit
www.exxonmobilchemical.com
.
ExxonMobil Chemical offers customers one of the industry’s broadest
portfolios of specialty elastomer products. This includes Vistamaxx
specialty elastomers, Santoprene
brand TPVs,
Vistalon
EPDM (conventional and metallocene
catalyst), Exact
modifiers. These products provide innovative elastomeric solutions
combined with global support in material selection, design, processing,
and supply chain management.
The terms,
we,
our,
“ExxonMobil Chemical,” or “ExxonMobil” are used for convenience, and may
include any one or more of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Exxon Mobil
Corporation, or any affiliates they directly or indirectly steward. The
ExxonMobil Logo, the Interlocking X Device, ExxonMobil, Vistamaxx,
Santoprene, Vistalon, Exact, and Exxelor are trademarks of ExxonMobil.
erschienen am 13.11.2008 um 19:16 Uhr

FDA Will Continue To Study Chemical

admin — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:05:49 +0000

FDA recalls chemical agent used in eye surgery

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:32:46 +0000

Federal regulators are calling on physicians to return a chemical agent made by Advanced Medical Optics Inc., saying it has been linked to dozens of eye problems.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a recall on lot number UD30654 of Healon D, a surgical agent used in cornea transplants, cataract removal and other ophthalmic procedures. The product comes prepackaged in a syringe and is applied using a small tube.
The FDA classified the recall as ‘class I,’ which means the product could “cause serious health problems or death.”
The Santa Ana, Calif.-based manufacturer already issued its own recall on the lots of Healon in late October. However, the company has only recovered 964 of the 1,450 units that were distributed on the market.
Advanced Medical Optics has received 66 reports of negative reactions with the product, including inflammation of the eye. Testing of the recalled product revealed elevated levels of endotoxin, which has been associated with eye problems.
The FDA urged customers to remove the products from inventory and contact the company at 1-877-AMO-4LIFE to arrange a return.
Shares of Advanced Medical Optics added 4 cents to $6.65 in morning trading.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Scientists link chemical used in plastics to health problems

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:57:50 +0000

WASHINGTON – The first large study in humans of a chemical widely used in everyday plastics has found that people with higher levels of bisphenol A had higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities, a finding that immediately became the focus of the increasingly heated debate over the safety of the chemical.
The research, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a team of British and American scientists, compared the health status of 1,455 men and women with the levels of the chemical, known as BPA, in their urine.
The researchers divided the subjects into four statistical groupings according to their BPA levels and found that those in the quartile with the highest concentrations were nearly three times as likely to have cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest levels, and 2.4 times as likely to have diabetes. Higher BPA levels were also associated with abnormal concentrations of three liver enzymes.
Although the researchers described them as preliminary, the findings were the buzz of a public hearing the Food and Drug Administration held Tuesday to discuss whether BPA is safe for continued use in food packaging and liquid containers.
“This is the nail in the coffin,” Frederick vom Saal, a reproductive scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia and one of the first to document evidence of health problems in rodents exposed to low doses of BPA, said outside the FDA meeting in Rockville, Md.
On Capitol Hill, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, cited the study as he opened an investigation of the way the FDA has regulated the chemical, joining several Democrats led, by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who have been looking into whether chemical manufacturers unduly influenced the agency’s stance.

FDA Declares Bisphenol-A Plastics Chemical to be Safe, Relying on …

admin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:12:06 +0000

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Wal-Mart pulls eggs from China stores amid chemical scare

admin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:31:35 +0000

Eggs from mainland China are seen at a wholesale market in Hong Kong Monday. Wal-Mart pulled all the eggs from its store shelves Tuesday across the country over melamine fears.
Wal-Mart’s move was the first major recall of eggs in mainland China over melamine fears, but Mu emphasized this was a precautionary measure and that the products from the Hanwei group had not yet been found to be contaminated.
Most other major supermarket chains in China, including France’s Carrefour, said they had issued no such recall.
Four babies died of kidney failure and 53,000 fell ill in China this year after drinking milk or consuming dairy products laced with melamine.
The chemical was apparently mixed into watered-down milk to give it the appearance of having higher protein levels.
The scandal, which erupted last month, has led to a spate of recalls and bans on import of Chinese dairy products around the world.
The revelation in Hong Kong that melamine was also in eggs has led to questions over whether the chemical, which is normally used to make plastics, had been mixed into livestock feed and contaminated China’s wider food chain.
Zhang Zhongjun, program officer with the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation in China, said the melamine in the eggs could mean the chemical was present in a wide range of foods such as farm-raised meats and fish.
Zhang told AFP that China’s agriculture ministry was investigating the possibility that melamine had been mixed into farming feed.
“But we do not know the details of the investigation . . . we want them to immediately report to us the results of their findings,” Zhang said.
“If the feed is found to be contaminated, then there is the possibility (that pork, chicken, fish and beef could also be contaminated).”
Zhang said that feed producers could have laced their products with melamine to falsely boost protein content, similar to the methods of the milk producers. However melamine can also be used as a fertilizer.
In Hong Kong, authorities had already announced they would expand their melamine testing of food imported from China to pork, farmed fish and offal products.
The World Health Organisation said the amount of melamine detected in the Hong Kong eggs did not pose a threat to health, but it had also asked the government for an explanation as to why the chemical was there.
“There is no immediate public health risk, unless the individual consumes an extraordinary amount of fresh eggs,” Tony Hazzard, the WHO’s regional food safety advisor, told AFP by phone.
Nevertheless, there was no indication of whether eggs or any other food products in China may have much higher levels of melamine that could pose health risks, with the Chinese government remaining silent on the issue on Tuesday.
China’s health ministry said the issue was not under its jurisdiction, while the agricultural ministry and the body in charge of food quality have refused to comment following requests from AFP.

Chemical aboard school bus sends kids to hospital

admin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:50:31 +0000

METAMORA, Ill. – Emergency officials say many of the
children aboard a central Illinois school bus are reporting
breathing problems after coming into contact with an unidentified
chemical spray.
Officials in Woodford County say the students were headed to
Metamora Elementary School in Metamora, about 10 miles east of
Peoria.
Officials at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria say two
children are in the hospital’s emergency room and at least three
more are on the way. The hospital is anticipating at least 15
patients.
Other students are being held aboard the bus while health
officials investigate.