"Replacement ‘Plastic’ May Be as Risky as BPA"

"Mounting evidence suggests BPS poses the same health risks being reported for BPA, a common ingredient in plastics".

"Not so long ago, scientists found some disturbing evidence about a common chemical. Known as bisphenol A, or BPA, it is the basic building block of many hard-plastic bottles and other products. In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, banned BPA’s use in baby bottles. Some companies stopped using BPA in other products as well. Many replaced this “plasticizer” with bisphenol S, or BPS. But BPS appears to have the same toxic, hormone-like effects in cells and animals as BPA, new data show.

The not-so-rosy findings are the latest to raise concerns about BPS. The studies also suggest that baby bottles and other products labeled "BPA-free" may not be any safer than those made with the now-banned BPA.

BPA got its bad reputation after researchers found links between the chemical and obesity, heart disease, cancers, infertility, nerve problems and asthma. The chemical is known as an endocrine disruptor. The endocrine system relies on hormones to tell cells throughout the body when to turn on and do their thing. But some pollutants, such as BPA, can disturb this system by mimicking a hormone. In BPA’s case, it mimics estrogen, the body’s primary female sex hormone."

Beth Mole reports for Student Science March 16, 2015.