A new study by the Environmental Working Group has found BPA (bisphenol-a, a harmful additive in plastics that caused manufacturers to start making BPA-free products) in the cord blood of a small group of African-American, Hispanic and Asian children. While the number of infants studied is too small to cause a major freak out (they studied 10 infants, of which 9 had the additive in their cord blood), it is definitely something that requires further testing…and fast! According to an interview found on Babble.com, labs working with EWG found over 200 additional chemicals in the cord blood they tested. These included:
-a toxic flame retardant chemical called tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) that permeates computer circuit boards -synthetic fragrances (Galaxolide and Tonalide) used in common cosmetics and detergents -and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA, or C4), a member of the Teflon chemical family used to make non-stick and grease-, stain- and water-resistant coatings for cookware, textiles, food packaging and other consumer products.
“Each time we look for the latest chemical of concern in infant cord blood, we find it,” said Anila Jacob, M.D., EWG senior scientist and co-author of the report. “This time we discovered BPA, among other dangerous substances, in almost every infant’s cord blood we tested.” While BPA has been pulled from almost all baby products, it's still found in products ADULTS use, such as the lining of canned foods. Do you only buy products labeled BPA-free? Do you think we should be worried about this?
9 out of 10 children studied had traces of the harmful chemical.
