US-based PlastiPure, a safe plastics technology company, has received two grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health and Safety (NIEHS), a division of the NIH, and an additional grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Collectively the grants fund formulation of a replacement for polycarbonate that is free of estrogenic activity (EA-Free), creating flexible food packaging that contains no EA, and developing a verifiably EA-Free baby bottle.
In addition to the estrogenic chemicals BPA and phthalates, hundreds of other chemicals having EA are used in plastics manufacturing. Health issues associated with EA include birth defects, reproductive cancers, and behavioral and learning disorders.
In recent testing of 15 premium brand BPA-free baby bottles, PlastiPure findings show that all tested positive for significant levels of EA with eight levels comparable to BPA-containing polycarbonate. Clearly BPA-free does not mean EA-Free.
Recently, PlastiPure has successfully introduced PlastiPure-Safe resins (TOPAS COC PlastiPure-Safe grades) and certified EA-Free products (Water Geeks and Hydrapak Purebot water bottles). With new product partner ReliaBrand, PlastiPure soon will be launching additional EA-Free products such as baby bottles, medical devices, food storage containers and multilayered bags under the Adiri, ReliaDose, ReliaWare, and ReliaWrap brands.