The presence of bisphenol A in everyday products from food can linings to some paper receipts has caused increasing concern due to a wide range of health effects linked to exposure to the hormone-altering chemical. Now, experts warn that BPA is contaminating the air near manufacturing plants and potentially creating a hazard to people in the surrounding communities, according to an article in Scientific American.
U.S. companies emitted approximately 26 tons of BPA last year, according to the article, and the EPA database indicates that chemical manufacturing accounted for 54 percent of those emissions. Still, the amount of BPA emitted into the air has declined in recent years, down 41 percent from 2012 and nearly 66 percent from 10 years ago. BPA degrades relatively quickly in the environment but can attach to dust particles and be inhaled into the lungs. Debate continues on whether these airborne BPA inhalations pose a danger to humans.
