The hormonal disruptor and cancer promoter BPA massively present in paper receipts: “100 percent in the USA” versus none in Japan and other countries.

A chemical compound used in making plastic products and the linings of tin cans, BPA has been found in 100 percent of American thermal receipts, routinely given out by stores (ie, in Japan and other countries, this hormonal disruptor is banned). BPA is often used as a color developer for the printing dye. Such receipts have a thermal-sensitive layer that, when heated, produces color. Beyond cash register receipts, high levels of BPA are also often present in the thermal paper used to make baggage destination tags, cigarette filters, and bus, train and lottery tickets. About 30 percent of the thermal paper enters the paper recycling stream, which can introduce BPA into products like toilet paper, napkins and food packaging. Traces of the chemical are found in the air and in water, soil, food and sewage. Canned soup, for example, can contain as much as 22 micrograms per liter of BPA. Source

We at HOM productions believe the general public should be aware of this overlooked route of exposure to this chemical, given its insidious molecular manifestations, a few elements of which are detailed below.

BPA is an endocrine disrupter, mimicking the body’s hormones as well as a metabolic and immune disruptor. Studies on animals have suggested that it can have harmful effects on the reproductive, developmental and other systems, causing neurological problems, for example, or stimulating obesity and other pathways.

“As an endocrine disruptor that mimics estrogen and thyroid hormones, BPA also acts as a metabolic and immune disruptor,” said Ho. “The adverse health effects of BPA are extensive, and studies in animals have proven this.” Source

And the BPA ravages are ongoing even in small amounts.

“Studies in animals show that very low concentrations of BPA can induce some response at the cellular level, so more attention should be paid to this chemical”. (Source)

The list of health problems connected to bisphenol-A (BPA) already includes some serious conditions, from thyroid and hormone abnormalities to asthma, behavioral problems, (including with gender relationships), obesity, children’s kidneys and hearts, independent of the heart issues related to obesity and cancer.

CANCER AND BPA

NEW FINDINGS SHOW BPA TO PROMOTE BREAST CANCER

” UT Arlington researchers found that when breast cancer and mammary gland cells were exposed to BPA in lab tests, the BPA worked together with naturally present molecules, including estrogen, to create abnormal amounts of HOTAIR expression. Their results were published online in February by the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. (…) We can’t immediately say BPA causes cancer growth, but it could well contribute because it is disrupting the genes that defend against that growth,” said Mandal, who is corresponding author on the paper.”Understanding the developmental impact of these synthetic hormones is an important way to protect ourselves and could be important for treatment,” he said.Bhan is lead author on the new paper. Co-authors include Mandal lab members Imran Hussain and Khairul I Ansari, as well as Linda I. Perrotti, a UT Arlington psychology assistant professor, and Samara A.M. Bobzean, a member of Perrotti’s lab.”We were surprised to find that BPA not only increased HOTAIR in tumor cells but also in normal breast tissue,” said Bhan. He said further research is needed, but the results beg the question — are BPA and HOTAIR involved in tumor genesis in addition to tumor growth?” (Source)

WHAT IS HOTAIR ?

HOTAIR is an abbreviation for long, non-coding RNA, a part of DNA in humans and other vertebrates. HOTAIR does not produce a protein on its own but, when it is being expressed or functioning, it can suppress genes that would normally slow tumor growth or cause cancer cell death. High levels of HOTAIR expression have been linked to breast tumors, pancreatic and colorectal cancers, sarcoma and others. (Footnote 1)

EVEN IN LOW DOSE, BPA ACTIVATED BREAST CANCER GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTORS

Coral Lamartiniere, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and senior scientist in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, and postdoctoral fellow Sarah Jenkins, Ph.D., assessed the effect of chronic, oral exposure to the compound bisphenol A (BPA) in mice genetically modified to overproduce the protein HER2/erbB2, present in about 15-30 percent of women with breast cancer. The results were published online Oct. 12, 2011, by the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

“We found the lower doses of BPA to be capable of activating several growth-factor-receptor pathways that previously have been implicated in cancer. This was not observed with the higher BPA doses,” Jenkins says. “This is counterintuitive since BPA in low levels was presumed to be safe.” (Source)

NEW DATA SHOWS BPA IS BOTH A PROSTATE MARKER AND PROMOTER

“Several studies have shown that centrosome amplification is a major contributing factor to chromosomal mutation in human tumors. We examined the centrosome profile of prostate cancer cells treated with BPA and found that treatment with BPA increased the number of cells with abnormal centrosomes.”

“All of these findings reveal a previously unknown relationship between BPA exposure and prostate cancer and suggest a mechanism underlying the role of BPA in cellular transformation and disease progression. With this insight, we hope to further investigate ways we can decrease exposures to potentially cancerous-causing chemicals in every day products and substances and reduce the onset of prostate cancer in men.” Source (footnote 2)

“….researchers assessed the PSA of 60 urology patients using urine samples. Higher levels of BPA were found in prostate cancer patients than in non-prostate cancer patients, and the difference was most significant in patients less than 65 years of age. Additionally, researchers examined prostate cells — normal and cancerous — and found those exposed to low doses of BPA underwent cellular changes that can give rise to prostate cancer. Source

100 PERCENT BPA IN AMERCIAN RECEIPTS, EVEN SOME MARKETED AS “BPA-FREE” WHILE “ZERO” IN JAPAN.

For their study, Dr. Liao and his co-author, Kurunthachalam Kannan, analyzed 103 thermal receipts collected from cities in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam in 2010 and 2011. They also examined 99 samples of other paper products found in those countries, like mailing envelopes, magazines and printing paper. They found BPA in 94 percent of the receipts they tested. Japan, which largely phased out the chemical in 2001, was the only country in which traces did not turn up in any samples.

Although chemical concentrations were higher in South Korea and Vietnam than in the United States, 100 percent of the receipts collected in the United States contained BPA — even some marketed as “BPA-free.”

Receipts have the highest BPA chemical content by far, followed by tickets, newspapers and fliers.The researchers wrote that BPA in receipts accounted for about 98 percent of consumer exposure from paper, and said they were particularly concerned about cashiers and other people who handle thermal paper on a regular basis. Previous studies have shown that 27 percent of the BPA that finds its way to skin surfaces penetrates and reaches the bloodstream within two hours.

“This is a very different kind of toxicological exposure,” Ms. Lunder said. “BPA is going right into the bloodstream in a free, unmetabolized and more active state, which is different than consuming it through diet.” (Source)

The FDA declined to ban BPA in 2012.

“…there is not compelling scientific evidence to justify new restrictions” (on the chemical, a plastic additive commonly used in food packaging of all kinds including cans). (Source)

TENTATIVE CONCLUSION

The EPA has only tested and published data on approximately 200 of the 83,000 chemicals in its inventory, according to a California Senate review from 2010. So the FDA feels justified in saying there is “no compelling scientific evidence”, its agents believe they have legally established “cause” in this matter. But have they ?

Europe has taken a precautionary approach by compelling companies to prove that their chemicals are safe, while in the U.S., the burden of safety verification lies with the Environmental Protection Agency and concomitantly or subsidiarily (depending on the drug), the FDA.

Since many federal agencys’ administrators and commissioners are either marionettes and-or “hired guns”, mostly politically nominated according to campaign donations and corporate interests, the People’s health becomes less a constitutional concern than a means of maximizing cash-flow via “legal” bribery and institutional deceit (see the Campaign’s statement for the evidence).

TENTATIVE CONCLUSION AND THE HOM RECOMMENDATION

A few states have shown some “intent” in considering a ban on BPA in food containers, especially those used by infants. In June 2009, Connecticut became the first state to ban the chemical in reusable food and beverage containers and in containers for infant formula and baby food. But most R-D lawmakers are still dragging their feet on a general BPA ban, notwithstanding serious cellular risks for many diseases, even at low concentrations. Now with the confirmation that the ubiquitous “cashier receipt” worsens the BPA infiltration within the fragile matrix of cellular Life and contributes in the activation of cancer pathways, those who are concerned with Holistic health need to be informed.

Pending an overhaul of the FDA, FTC and EPA via a Holistic Congress, follows the HOM recommendation: After touching receipts, better to wash-hands, or better, to wear gloves (bpa and pvc free) (footnote 3) or ask for electronic receipts or refuse the receipt if not necessary or go back to bartering and-or writing receipts via a non toxic pen or lead free pencil on chlorine free hemp paper.

FOOTNOTES

Footnote 1: Arunoday Bhan, Imran Hussain, Khairul I. Ansari, Samara A.M. Bobzean, Linda I. Perrotti, Subhrangsu S. Mandal. Bisphenol-A and diethylstilbestrol exposure induces the expression of breast cancer associated long noncoding RNA HOTAIR in vitro and in vivo. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2014; 141: 160

Footnote 2: Pheruza Tarapore, Jun Ying, Bin Ouyang, Barbara Burke, Bruce Bracken, Shuk-Mei Ho. Exposure to Bisphenol A Correlates with Early-Onset Prostate Cancer and Promotes Centrosome Amplification and Anchorage-Independent Growth In Vitro. PLoS ONE, 2014; 9 (3):

Footnote PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is also known as vinyl. PVC is the second most common plastic There are two main reasons why PVC is a toxic plastic that causes damage to our health and environment. When manufactured, disposed of, or subjected to high heat, the chlorine in PVC can chemically combine with organic materials, producing deadly byproducts known as dioxins. Secondly, the additives used in PVC plastic products can also be toxic. Dioxins are known to cause cancer, immune suppression, and birth defects in animals. They can act as endocrine disruptors, which means that they have the ability to mimic or block hormones in the body. Source The EPA has at least classified this legally allowed chemical as a “Group A carcinogen” (Source)

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