Bisphenol-A Substitutes
June 7, 2005 3:18 PM   Subscribe

Are there affordable substitutes for Bisphenol-A that can be used to create clear, hard plastics in a variety of tints, and that are food safe?

(I realize that this is obscure and a somewhat specialized question, but hey, MeFi is an obscure and diversely specialized community.)
posted by alms to Science & Nature (4 answers total)
 
Polypropylene?
posted by greatgefilte at 3:50 PM on June 7, 2005


This is a long-standing problem in the plastics industry; as far as I know, there is not a good substitutes available. As I understand, Bisphenol-A is used as an additive to polycarbonate plastics, so polypropylene won't work.

For some discussion of alternatives check here and here.

My $0.02: Bisphenol-A has been around for a long time. It's been extensively tested and it doesn't seem to pose serious health risks. There are mice studies out there, but be wary of results when mice are fed enormous amounts of the stuff. Your exposure is exceedingly low (it only slowly leaches out of the plastic, so you're getting very very small amounts in your food). There's a relatively simple way to avoid exposure too: This compound is used to strengthen only clear plastics - avoid exposure by storing food in non-clear plastic containers.

Disclaimer: I'm a chemist, but don't work with plastics, so I could be wrong...
posted by istewart at 5:02 PM on June 7, 2005


As I understand, Bisphenol-A is used as an additive to polycarbonate plastics, so polypropylene won't work.

As I understand, bisphenol-A is the actual monomer that makes up most kinds of polycarbonate plastic, not merely an additive. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarbonate)

I would imagine that the answer depends on how hard and how clear you want the product to be. How about PMMA? It seems to be perfectly safe, and possibly cheaper than bisphenol-a based polycarbonate. Yum, ice cream!
posted by greatgefilte at 6:53 PM on June 7, 2005


Sorry for the error, greatgefilte, you're right.
posted by istewart at 10:33 AM on June 8, 2005


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