Survey finds BPA present in 91 percent of Canadians
Teens carry 30 per cent more BPA than rest of population
By Martin Mittelstaedt
From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail Published on Monday, Aug. 16, 2010 8:57AM EDT Teenagers may carry the highest levels of bisphenol A – about 30 per cent more than the rest of the population, according to the first national survey about the compound conducted by Statistics Canada, but exposure to the estrogen-mimicking chemical is widespread, with detectible levels in 91 per cent of Canadians. The survey, released Monday, found that the average level of BPA, as the substance is known, was just over one part per billion, an exceedingly small amount, but still a thousand times higher than natural levels of estrogen found in the body. Statistics Canada said its data, based on urine samples collected from more than 5,400 people aged six to 79, suggest there is “continual widespread exposure in the Canadian population” to BPA. The Statscan sampling is the largest such effort done to date in the world. “Although BPA may constitute a health risk, no guidance values are currently available in Canada for urinary BPA,” the federal agency said of its findings. The everyday chemical is used to produce everything from CDs to the liners of nearly all tin cans, and has emerged as one of the most debated substances in use because of concerns that exposures amount to receiving an extra dose of estrogen. Two years ago, Canada was the first country in the world to propose declaring it a toxic substance, although it has yet to do so. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have announced that they are conducting safety of the chemical. Some scientists and public-health advocates are worried about even these trace amounts, saying they could contribute to increased risk of breast cancer and precocious puberty in girls, among other hormonally caused health impacts that have been observed in animal experiments using low-level exposures to the compound. Health Canada said it wasn’t surprised by the findings because the results are in line with research from other advanced countries showing nearly everyone has some BPA. … “The No. 1 priority at the moment has got to be getting it out of the lining of tin cans,” said Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence, an advocacy group. “When nine out of 10 Canadians have a hormonally active chemical in their body, for which easy alternatives are available … why not make some further changes with respect to BPA?” …
