Most Europeans are exposed to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) at levels that are harmful to health. The European Environment Agency announced this on Thursday and referred to new research data.
An EU study found that in three of 11 countries surveyed, all participants were likely exposed to levels of BPA above the limit considered safe. These are France, Portugal and Luxembourg.
Bisphenol A is a synthetic chemical used in countless food packaging – for example in plastic bottles and cans – as well as in drinking water pipes. According to the EFSA, the European food safety authority, BPA is also used in intermediate products: for example, it is used in polycarbonate plastic, a transparent and hard plastic, “which in turn is used to make water dispensers, storage containers and reusable drinking bottles,” according to the EFSA.
According to the Environment Agency, even in small doses the chemical can weaken the immune system. Infertility and allergic skin reactions can also occur.
According to the information, the proportion of a total of 2,756 study participants whose urine BPA levels were measured above the limit value was between 71 and 100 percent, depending on the country.
Leena Ylä-Mononen, director of the Copenhagen-based Environment Agency, wrote in a statement: “We must take the results of this study seriously and take more action at EU level to reduce exposure to chemicals that pose a risk to the health of Europeans to limit. .”
More than 13,000 different chemicals are used in plastics. A quarter of them have problems. For another 50 percent it is unclear what impact they have on health and the environment, as shown in a report published in the summer with Swiss participation.
The individual problematic substances known to the public, such as bisphenol A (BPA), are only the tip of the iceberg, the Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute Empa wrote in a statement in June. Empa researchers co-authored the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report. (sda/dpa)
Source: Blick
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