By Abhinav School

Depending on where you live and work, you’re likely to be exposed to many plastic products every day. Food and beverage containers, some disposable plates and toiletary bottles are all plastic and all are made from chemicals. Research suggests that all plastics may leach chemicals if they’re scratched or heated. At certain exposure, some of these chemicals in these products, such as bisphenol A(BPA), may cause cancer in people. BPA is a weak synthetic extrogen found in many rigid plastic products, food and formula can linings, dental seal- ants, and on the shiny side of paper cashier recipients. It’s estrogen-like activity makes it a hormone disrup- tor like many other chemicals in plastics, It all results into hormonal imbalance and may develop breast cancer. In case of women BPA also seems to affect brain development in the womb. In 2011, a study found that pregnant women with high levels of BPA in their urine were more likely to have children who showed signs of hyperactivity, anxiety and depression.
To reduce exposure to BPA:-

1) Carry your own glass, steel or ceramic water bottle filled with filtered tap water.
2) Reduce how much canned food you eat
3) (If pregnant) Not to use things made of plastic at all. Use baby bottles with labels
that say “B PA free”.
4) Avoid handling carbonless copy cash register receipts. If you get a carbonless
receipt, don’t recycle it.
5) Look closely at plastics with No. & recycling symbol on the bottom. If the plastic
doesn’t also say “PLA” or have a leaf symbol on it, it may contain BPA.
All these measures, would save us from cancer causing agent—Plastic.
One must take care and follow such measures for a healthy future.

– Anushruti Nair
XII Science Div B