The article by Ye, Wong, Bishop and Calafat (2011) elucidates the problem of the current exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) that the Earth’s population is facing. Other studies, such as the one performed by Rezg, El-Fazaa, Gharbi and Mornagui (2014) also demonstrate that it is indeed the topic of current interest and its problematic nature calls to proper discussion and search for the solution. Another significant problem regarding BPA is that it is problematic to detect the chemical concentration is spot urine samples.
The authors provide a possible solution to how the BPA concentration may be measured in spot samples, morning voids, and 24 hours samples. All of the samples are to be collected from the same person. The authors provide their description on how the samples must be gathered and analyzed. In the framework of the research goal, the methods implemented were picked correctly, and there are no significant flaws in this study’s design. The methods of this study were chosen so that they would cover a specific topic of how to gather the samples. One may argue that there was no possibility for the research design to have limitations. Therefore, the study was certainly worth doing because it created an important improvement in understanding how BPA may be detected in person’s body for specific periods after the exposure, which initially was the goal of this research.
It is scientifically proven that BPA creates particular hazards for public health. The limitations of restricting and replacing BPA, however, may create a high number of problems regarding plastic production. More importantly, restricting BPA may create a significant problem in dental procedures because the dental fillings sealants are mostly produced using BPA. Therefore, replacing BPA is necessary indeed. However, there is currently no chemical that may be used to do so. The restriction of BPA may also be impossible – even in longer run – because a vast amount of plastic products (eyeglass lenses, CDs, DVDs, household electronics, etc.) greatly rely on using BPA in their manufacturing. Whenever the solution is found, it may be one of the crucial milestones in public health improvements.
References
Rezg, R., El-Faaza, S., Gharbi, N., & Mornagui, B. (2014). Bisphenol A and human chronic diseases: Current evidences, possible mechanisms, and future perspectives. Environment International, 64(1), 83-90.
Ye, X., Wong, L., Bishop, A. M., & Calafat, A. M. (2011). Variability of urinary concentrations of bisphenol A in spot samples, first morning voids, and 24-hour collections. Environ Health Perspectives, 119(7), 983-988.