• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families

A national effort to protect families from toxic chemicals.

  • Get Involved
  • Our Work
    • News
    • Public Policy
    • Mind the Store
    • Successes
  • Get the Facts
  • About
  • Donate

Get the Facts: Bisphenol A (BPA) & Bisphenol S (BPS)

BPA is found in children's toys, polycarbonate plastic, sports bottles, canned food and other products. BPA and BPS is found in thermal receipt paper.
Potential health effects include:

  • BPA: Harm to brain, behavior and prostate in young children; many other effects triggered by hormone disruption
  • BPS: Related to Hormone disruption

Commonly found in:

  • BPA: food and beverage cans, polycarbonate plastic, children’s toys, thermal receipt paper, garden hoses
  • BPS: thermal receipt paper

Bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) are chemical cousins that are commonly found in plastics, food and beverage can linings, and other consumer products. BPA is known to mimic estrogen and, in animal studies, researchers have linked developmental exposure to it to reproductive harm, increased cancer susceptibility, and abnormalities in brain development and fat metabolism.

The FDA and the National Institutes of Health state that the primary exposure source for most people is contaminated food and beverages. BPA has been detected in infant formula, canned food, and canned beverages. Over 90 percent of people in the United States carry BPA residues in their bodies. The human body breaks down and excretes BPA within a few days, so these consistent measurements in humans mean that we are taking in BPA as fast as our bodies can get rid of it. BPA also has been measured in breast milk, amniotic fluid, and follicular fluid; providing evidence that the developing fetus and infant also are exposed. Premature infants in neonatal intensive care units undergoing treatments were found to have 10 times higher BPA levels than seen in the general public, presumably as a result of BPA leaching from plastic components of medical care devices.

Consumer tips:

Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in polycarbonate plastic—usually marked with recycling symbol No. 7 and “PC”. Not all No. 7 plastic contains BPA, so look for products specifically labeled as “BPA-free.” Most canned foods and beverages and metal jar lids have BPA-based linings, unless the company has indicated otherwise, and are thought to be a major source of current BPA exposure.

Bisphenol S (BPS) is found in some thermal paper cash register receipts and appears to have similar health risks as BPA.


Related Posts:

  • Amazon Fresh van Amazon announces ban on toxic chemicals and plastics in food packaging
  • fingers handling a receipt Retailers taking action on toxics: Target & CVS make progress, Walmart slides backward
  • Taco Bell food Taco Bell to phase out toxic chemicals in food packaging
Share41
Tweet
41 Shares

Primary Sidebar

  • Toxic Chemicals

    • Asbestos
    • Bisphenol A (BPA) & Bisphenol S (BPS)
    • Formaldehyde
    • Heavy Metals
    • Hexane
    • Hexavalent Chromium
    • Lead
    • Methylene chloride
    • NMP (N-Methylpyrrolidone)
    • NPEs (nonylphenol ethoxylates)
    • Organotins
    • Parabens
    • PCBs and DDT
    • Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic Chemicals (PBTs)
    • PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
    • Phthalates
    • Styrene
    • Toxic flame retardants
    • TCE (Trichloroethylene)
    • Triclosan
    • Vinyl Chloride
  • person stripping paint

    Tell EPA: Ban this deadly chemical from the workplace

    Take Action

    Subscribe to Posts

    Get our latest posts delivered to your inbox.

    Get the Facts

    These chemicals are linked to serious environmental and health problems. Check out our fact sheets, which draw from the leading peer-reviewed science.

    • Bisphenol A (BPA) & Bisphenol S (BPS)
    • Formaldehyde
    • Methylene chloride
    • Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic Chemicals (PBTs)
    • PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
    • Phthalates
    • Toxic flame retardants
    Other Chemicals »

    Footer

    Contact Us

    200 Massachusetts Ave NW
    Suite 700
    Washington, DC 20001
    Email

    Search

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter

    © 2021 Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families — All rights reserved.

    • About Us
    • Privacy policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Feed