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Excerpts from the Globe's new environmentally friendly Green Blog.
The public is increasingly anxious about hard, transparent, plastic baby bottles, hiking containers, and other consumer goods made with the chemical bisphenol A. Two weeks ago, Canada announced a ban on such baby bottles as a precautionary measure, because some animal studies showed the chemical may be harmful to humans.
Many companies, including Nalgene and baby bottle manufacturers, have said they are in the process of removing bisphenol A from their products. Plastic bottles labeled with a 7 on the bottom are likely to be made with bisphenol A, as are many canned goods.
Here are excerpts of readers' questions about bisphenol A, answered by Mia Davis, of Clean Water Action, a Boston-based advocacy group and author of Baby's Toxic Bottle.
BETH DALEY
Q: Do basic canned goods - soups, beans, etc. - have bisphenol A? What about bottled juices?
A: Bisphenol A is in the resin that lines a lot of canned goods, including canned tomatoes, corn, soups, and soda cans. Juice bottles are not made with bisphenol A. I advise people to try to limit their exposure to BPA by using fresh or frozen ingredients over canned whenever possible.
Q: Does the temperature of the bottle make a difference?
A: Recent studies have shown when bottles are heated, the rate of bisphenol A leaching increases significantly. However, leaching can occur at room temperature. In our studies we found that fatty substances like milk or acidic substance like tomatoes can increase leaching.
Q: Do baby bottle liners also contain bisphenol A?
A: No, but I am concerned that they contain phthalates, chemicals which have been linked to reproductive harm.
Q: What effect does the dishwasher have on the bottle?
A: Dishwashing and heating plastic have been shown to increase the rate of leaching.
Q: Are there alternatives?
A: Stainless steel or glass bottles or even number 5 plastic bottles are better choices.
Q: If I want to toss my water bottle can I include it in my recycle plastics bin or will that simply keep toxins in the recycling loop?
A: I'd love to see a halt to BPA manufacturing so that there is no source pollution, no body burden, and no groundwater contamination after use. In the meantime, we can't pollute ourselves rather than recycling or tossing these bottles out. So if you can be creative about using the bottles (pencil holders?) go for it, otherwise, recycle or toss them.
Excerpts from the Globe's blog on the Boston-area medical community.
Four-dozen liberal arts colleges have won $60 million to stimulate undergraduate science education, with plans that range from marrying genetics and dance to getting freshmen through "gateway" courses in biology, chemistry, and mathematics.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute selected 48 winners - including seven in New England - from 192 colleges that submitted plans to create more inviting classes, offer research experience, and increase diversity among science students.
The New England winners and their programs:
Amherst College ($1.3 million): Expanding the reach of neuroscience
Bowdoin College ($1.1 million): Post-graduate year caps off student research
Colby College ($1 million): Getting through the gateway
Mount Holyoke College ($1.5 million): Classes make physics fun for science students
Smith College ($1.3 million): What comes next in science education
Wellesley College ($1.2 million): Wellesley makes a triple play for science
Wesleyan University ($1.4 million): Dancing the scientific classics leads to better learning
ELIZABETH COONEY
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
