General Cycling Discussion - Canada first to label bisphenol A as officially dangerous

Used in some plastic water bottles.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080415.wtoxic15/BNStory/National/home

Independent researchers in dozens of studies have linked trace BPA exposures in animal and test-tube experiments to conditions involving hormone imbalances, including breast and prostate cancer, early puberty and changes in brain structure...retailers, including Mountain Equipment Co-op, have pulled polycarbonate plastic containers from their stores...Bisphenol A, or BPA, is one of the most widely used synthetic chemicals in modern industry. It is the basic building block for polycarbonate, the see-through, shatter-proof plastic that resembles glass, and is also used to make...sports helmets...

now wouldn't that be a kick in the pants? It's possible bike helmets cause cancer and brain damage. I wonder how that's going to affect the BC MHL?

now wouldn't that be a kick in the pants? It's possible bike helmets cause cancer and brain damage. I wonder how that's going to affect the BC MHL?

Depends if you eat or drink out of your helmet...

Otherwise, the manufacturing process of the helmet could be dangerous...

now wouldn't that be a kick in the pants? It's possible bike helmets cause cancer and brain damage. I wonder how that's going to affect the BC MHL?


Unless you drink from your bike helmet, I don't think you need to worry about it. ;)


Edit: damn you greengrasshopper! /shakes fist

people worry about all kinds of things, whether the things are a credible threat or not.

This issue has been around for some time (you got to know if politicians are involved, it's got to be an old story).

Last year ABC did a story on it http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=3450831&page=1 in which the American Chemistry Council denied reports that have shown that even small amounts of exposure to BPA can lead to a range of serious ailments saying in a statement that it was,

"distinctly at odds with the findings of other comprehensive evaluations of the safety of bisphenol-A, in which government and scientific bodies worldwide examined the same scientific information. All of these evaluations support the conclusion that bisphenol-A is not a risk to human health at the extremely low levels to which consumers might be exposed."

It's just more scaremongering but then hey, who knows? Bike helmets just may cause cancer. ;)

With all the petrol chemicals now in our food,air,water and now our bodies
people still think smoking is a killer. Yep, if the chemicals don't kill us first.

I laughed way back in 1977 when Barth Gimble, on Fernwood Tonight said,

"It has now been shown that leisure suits, do in fact, cause cancer."

Used in some plastic water bottles.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080415.wtoxic15/BNStory/National/home

Considering that polycarbonate isn't used in bicycle water bottles, this isn't a concern for us bicyclists. Those kinds of bottles don't squeeze too well;)

Bike helmets have been perfectly safe since they put those slots in to prevent people drinking out of them. So successful has this policy been, that not a single person has died from the habit since the slots were introduced.

Oh, come on, you didn't fall for the story that they were for ventilation, did you?

Used in some plastic water bottles.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080415.wtoxic15/BNStory/National/home

Take a look at the markings on the bottom of your plastic bottles... only hard bottles with the marking of 7 inside the recycle triangle contain bisphenol A.

If your bottle has recycle triangle with the number 3,6, or 7 then it's suspect.

Oh, come on, you didn't fall for the story that they were for ventilation, did you?

I thought they were for safety in crashes. I didn't think they were for the safety of drainage. I've always thought the vents were at least as safe as the rest of the helmet, now I know they're the safest part of a helmet.

I thought they were for safety in crashes. I didn't think they were for the safety of drainage. I've always thought the vents were at least as safe as the rest of the helmet, now I know they're the safest part of a helmet.

Not to mention that there isn't any polycarbonate in bicycle helmets. Polystyrene foam is in bicycle helmets. Polycarbonate is in motorcycle and football type helmets. (Think hard plastic) If you are going to scare monger, at least use the correct materials. :rolleyes:

doesn't matter. guilt by association. didn't you know, facts have nothing to do with stories about safety ;)

Bike helmets have been perfectly safe since they put those slots in to prevent people drinking out of them.

I've found that very chunky soup (often in a cream base, like New England Style clam chowder) self-seals the vents. Rather like Slime in your inner tubes. Very helpful and weight-saving on randonnees.

http://ikonltd.com/images/lg/warhol-clam-chowder.jpg

I've found that very chunky soup (often in a cream base, like New England Style clam chowder) self-seals the vents. Rather like Slime in your inner tubes. Very helpful and weight-saving on randonnees.

http://ikonltd.com/images/lg/warhol-clam-chowder.jpg

Not to mention that if you add WHOLE milk as per the instructions, you will get a dandy paint out of the deal. With texture, too!

East Hill

Sadly, it's either slots to prevent you from drinking from your helmet but, letting in the gummint's radio waves, or no radio wave induced brainwashing and overheating which can be alleviated somewhat by drinking out of your helmet which is likely to poison you. Which, by the way, is a deliberate gummint policy to force you to get slots in your helmets. Simple, really

The radio waves? They are beamed down from those black helicopters.

The Globe has a column on the topic today, but you have to subscribe to get it online.

It's called, "the great plastic panic" and it puts things in perspective.

T. Butterworth who's with an independent outfit called STATS (for statistical assessment service), a non-profit non partisan US group that analysis the use and abuse of science and statistics in the media, says,

"on my list of 1,000 things to worry about, BPA would rank 892nd"

"letting your child outside the door to breath in exhaust fumes is more risky than letting them drink from plastic bottles. - If you're really worried about plastic, give up plastic bags. They suffocate 25 children a year"

everyone should read:

http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-14148-2/hyping-health-risks

More fall out from the BPA scare, BPA in dental fillings.

Should we all have our teeth pulled? Is it too late? has the BPA from sealants and fillings been absorbed past the teeth?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080424.wldental24/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home?cid=al_gam_mostview


The other place bisphenol A lurks: our teeth
Health Canada says the BPA in dental fillings doesn't appear hazardous, but that hasn't stopped people from worrying

CARLY WEEKS

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

April 24, 2008 at 8:45 AM EDT

Just when they thought they could breathe easy after years of controversy concerning mercury-based fillings, dentists are finding themselves at the centre of a new debate over the safety of the alternatives.

An increasing number of dentists are using sealants and fillings that may expose patients to bisphenol A, a chemical the federal government said last week is potentially dangerous and will be banned from use in plastic baby bottles. BPA is a hormone disruptor that can mimic estrogen, and some research has linked it to health consequences, including early puberty in girls, breast and prostate cancer, and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder...