I have been really thinking a lot about plastic products that we use with our baby. It concerns me when I hear talk of chemicals/pesticides/toxins and carcinogens coming in contact with my child on a daily basis. I know I can't remove every harmful thing, but with things like Autism and ADHD on the rise in an unprecedented way, I want to limit the exposure to harmful things, as much as I can. I found this blog post today and thought it was helpful and informative so I thought I'd share. Reducing our exposure to toxins found in plastics
Welcome to the January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Experiments in Natural Family LivingThis post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have reported on weeklong trials to make their lives a little greener and gentler. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
What a great time of year to make changes towards more natural family living! 2011 was a year of change for our family, and I’d like take more positive steps in this fresh new year. This month’s Carnival theme was a perfect opportunity for our family to clear out some clutter from the kitchen. Our targets: melamine plates and plastic drinking cups.
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| Toxic plastic and melamine tableware |
For the last 2 weeks we have been making some minor adjustments to our tableware in favour of greener and less toxic alternatives, and I’ll tell you why...
Melamine plates
Why would I want to throw out these cute melamine plates and bowls which have accumulated over the years? They have such bright, fun patterns which the boys adore, and best of all they don’t smash when dropped (or let’s face it, thrown) on the floor by a toddler.
I have actually been meaning to discard these items of tableware for some time, since I first read of the dangers of melamine during the awful melamine scandal in China[1]. Quite honestly, there are so many things we would like to change/do better/do without, that this had slipped down my list of priorities. I had wanted to indulge in a little research first, and after a few minutes reading some articles online, I now wish I had acted a lot sooner. This is one experiment in natural family living that I want to make sure becomes a permanent change!
Melamine is a chemical compound which forms a white crystalline powder, but can be mixed with formaldehyde to produce a hard plastic, known as melamine resin. It is this resin that is used to make, among other things, the children’s plates we have been ignorantly using for the past few years. Melamine resin is not microwave safe, and can degrade when exposed to high temperatures. As the plates are worn down or damaged, the melamine resin breaks down to its component parts. In both cases, this can cause exposure to both melamine and formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen[2].
It wasn’t hard to push the melamine to the back of the cupboard for now, and swap it for porcelain tableware for the children. Porcelain and other ceramics certainly don’t show signs of wear as quickly as melamine, and can cope with high temperatures without leaching toxins. We already had plenty of porcelain, but these sorts of ceramic plates are easy and cheap to purchase (especially second hand!). The only downside is that they are of course rather breakable. It’s currently not a problem in our family since our twins are now 4 and don’t generally fling things from the table, and our 10 month old feeds himself straight off his wooden high chair tray. Our twin’s verdict on the new plates? They didn’t even notice until I asked them, and simply shrugged like teenage boys. However, they did take far more notice of our next change...
Plastic cups and cutlery
The banished melamine plates and bowls have been joined by plastic cups and cutlery. Our boys have been rather attached to their old colourful plastic sippy cups! As much as we had tried to offer drinks in normal glass cups, they still often asked for their clever-cup-with-a-lid. Sadly for them, I now realise that they probably contain bisphenol-A (BPA) and other nasty chemicals.
Bisphenol-A is commonly abbreviated to BPA, and is a chemical used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics. It is part of a group of chemicals which exhibit similar effects to oestrogen, thus disrupting the body’s hormone system. Oestrogen (estrogen) itself is a natural hormone found in animals and some insects, which has wide ranging functions, from regulating aspects of the reproductive system to affecting fat deposition and even mental health [3].
BPA’s oestrogenic activity has been studied for decades. There is a huge amount of compelling research out there, and I wish I had the time to break it all down! Just a few examples of its effects on the body include:
- Hyperactivity, attention deficits and a heightened sensitivity to drugs of abuse [4]
- An increase in the risk of breast cancer [5,6] and induced cancerous growth in the lab[7]
- Problems with the development of the reproductive system, female fertility[8] and male sexual dysfunction[9]
- Reduced brain function related to regulation of moods and formation of memories[10]
The body’s hormonal system is highly sensitive, and low doses of this oestrogen-mimicking chemical have been found to cause serious health problems. There is a consensus among many experts that the average level of BPA found in humans is greater than the levels found to cause harm in laboratory studies. As you can imagine, the effects of BPA will be greater in developing babies and children. BPA can leach out of polycarbonate plastics when they are heated, scratched, cleaned using harsh detergents, exposed to UV light, and as they naturally degrade over time. BPA was banned from infant feeding bottles and cups in Europe over a year ago[11], but some of our cups were bought before the ban came into force.
BPA-free plastic is not necessarily safe either. For years the manufacturer’s defended their use of this chemical, until they were forced to withdraw it. I wonder how many other chemicals in plastics pose health risks? In March 2011, a US research team examined over 450 BPA-free products to determine if other potentially damaging chemicals were released during use[12]. They exposed commonly available plastic products to general wear from heat, UV light and microwaving and found that almost all plastics leached out chemicals which had oestrogenic activity. In fact, some of these chemicals in BPA-free plastics had more oestrogenic activity than BPA itself. The true health effects of many of these chemicals are unknown, and not widely publicised like those of BPA.
Even though the oestrogenic activity and health effects of BPA are well known, this chemical is still found in a whole host of plastics which commonly come into contact with our food and drink. I was surprised to read that it is used in the lining of cans [13], thermal paper of till receipts [14], and even in the epoxy resins used to reline old water pipes [15]! It seems hard to completely avoid exposure, which makes it especially important to switch our children’s drinking cups to a more suitable alternative.
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| Painted ceramic mugs |
We may buy some smaller drinking glasses for the children, but for now they have been very happy to drink out of some ceramic mugs that we all painted together this week. These were actually one of their Christmas gifts, and we all enjoyed splashing some paint on the outside and setting it in the oven. For days out and about, we bought some great stainless steel drinks containers which seem really tough and easy to clean.
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| Stainless steel flasks - BPA free |
It hasn’t been hard to stop using plastics and melamine, and we will definitely continue trying to eliminate chemicals in the kitchen to protect our health. I haven't even gone into the environmental concerns about plastic! These tainted items are currently sitting at the back of the cupboard, waiting for me to work out the best way to reuse or be rid of them. Any ideas?
The next thing to go is the non-stick cookware...
Here is the link to her original blog post with a list of references: http://gentlyparentingtwins.blogspot.com/2012/01/reducing-exposure-to-toxins-in-plastics.html
If you are interested in making the exchange, the deadline is coming up soon. Your bumbo must be sent and postmarked by January 31st to qualify for the free exchange.
