Once found in bottles, food containers, cash register receipts and electronics, bisphenol A (BPA) has been phased out of many products because of health concerns and government regulations.
As a result, the production and use of BPA analogs, which are unregulated and poorly understood, have increased.
Now, by analysing urine samples and wastewater, UQ researchers report in the journal Environmental Science & Technology how human exposure to bisphenols has changed over time in an Australian population.
BPA is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. An endocrine disruptor, the compound readily leaches from these products, and high levels have been linked to health problems in humans and laboratory animals.
With increasing regulation and unfavourable public opinion, BPA is being replaced with similar compounds, such as bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol B (BPB) and bisphenol AF (BP-AF).
However, these compounds have not been well studied, and despite their similar chemical structures to BPA, they are largely unregulated.
Phys.org writes about how Dr Chang He and colleagues from the Queensland Alliance of Environmental Health Sciences have used pooled urine samples and wastewater collected from South East Queensland, to estimate exposure to various bisphenols over a 6-year period.
