Occupational exposure to BPA in U.S. manufacturing companies
By Cynthia Hines, MS, CIH
You may have seen water bottles labeled “BPA Free” or heard that certain foods contain BPA. BPA (or bisphenol A) has been in the news over the past several years. BPA is weakly estrogenic; that is, BPA may mimic some of the hormone-like effects of estrogen. BPA is used primarily in making polycarbonate plastic and some epoxy resins. The general population is exposed to BPA mainly through diet. Trace levels of BPA may be present in food or beverages in contact with polycarbonate containers or epoxy resins coatings on the inside of cans. As a result, BPA has been detected in the urine of over 92% of the general population. But what about the exposures of people who work with BPA? The few studies that have measured worker exposure to BPA have focused mainly on cashiers handling point-of-sale thermal receipt paper coated with BPA and workers in Chinese factories. No published data were available on the BPA exposure of workers in U.S. factories.