Did BPA Bite The Dust?
BY STEVE HENTGES | JUNE 29TH 2017 11:41 AM

A common definition of the word dust refers to fine, dry particles of matter. From
dust storms on earth to cosmic dust, just about everywhere that any form ofmatter is present, dust will also be present. That includes the ubiquitous household
dust that seems to magically appear in our homes on every surface and in the formof dust bunnies under furniture.
Household dust consists of particles of most every form of matter that is present inour personal environment, including particles of us. From skin cells and hair, tofabric fibers, to pollen and soil particles, household dust has it all.
Although it may be just an annoyance to you, household dust is a topic ofresearch for some scientists. Of particular scientific interest is the presence oftrace levels of environmental contaminants that are found in household
dust. Understanding which contaminants are present in dust and how they got
there can provide important information about the contaminants in ourenvironment and how they move around.
Household dust can also be a source of human exposure to environmentalcontaminants and, thus, a potential health risk. This is especially so for infants andtoddlers who spend a lot of time on the floor and are prone to put everything intheir mouths.
One of the environmental contaminants that has been measured in household dust
is bisphenol A (BPA), which is primarily used to make polycarbonate plastic andepoxy resins. Clear and highly shatter-resistant, polycarbonate is used in common
consumer products such as bicycle helmets, sunglass lenses and CDs. Epoxy resins
are tough, durable materials that excel as protective coatings used to prevent
corrosion of metal products.
Recent studies have reported BPA in household dust samples from 15 countries inNorth America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Importantly
though, the levels of BPA have consistently been reported to be very low, in therange of one part per million (ppm) or below.

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Along with reporting the levels of BPA in household dust, many of the researchers
also estimated the level of human exposure to BPA from dust. Even more
importantly, these researchers also consistently report that household dust is aminor source of exposure to BPA and the levels of exposure from dust are far below
safe intake limits for BPA set by government bodies worldwide.
With the very sensitive analytical methods available today it is possible to detect
ultra-trace levels of BPA in dust along with a wide variety of othercontaminants. At least for BPA though, dust may still be annoying but it’s not ahealth concern.
Why Do Scientists Study Dust?
People spend as much as 90% of their time in indoor environments. Consequently,
our indoor surroundings can be a significant source of exposure to environmentalcontaminants simply by virtue of the amount of time we spend there. A
comprehensive understanding of health risks posed by environmental contaminants
thus requires an understanding of which contaminants are present in our indoor
surroundings, how they get there, and how much exposure occurs.
Household dust is ubiquitous and essentially is a form of debris that represents across-section of everything that enters the indoor environment, regardless of how it
got there. In that regard, household dust can provide a snapshot of contaminants
that are present in the indoor environment from all sources.
In addition to providing clues to what is present in the indoor environment,household dust can also be a vector for exposure to environmental
contaminants. We may not intend to eat dust, but a small amount of dust probably
finds its way into every one of us. Household dust may be a particularly important
vector for infants and toddlers due to their proximity to the floor where dust tends
to accumulate, and their frequent hand-to-mouth behavior.
One of the first environmental contaminants found in dust was lead, which at thetime was likely present due to its common use in paint and as a fueladditive. Since those early reports more than 40 years ago, scientists haveconducted a growing number of studies that document the presence of a wide
range of environmental contaminants in household dust.

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Is BPA Present In Dust?
One such contaminant that has been studied is BPA, which has been measured inhousehold dust samples collected from 15 countries in recentyears: Belgium, China, Columbia, Germany,Greece, India, Japan, SouthKorea, Kuwait, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, United States,and Vietnam. In most studies, dust was collected from vacuum cleaner bags andextracted with a solvent to generate samples that could be analyzed with sensitive
analytical instruments.
In general, BPA was found in nearly all dust samples, but only at very low
levels. Typical levels of BPA were similar across the 15 countries with medianconcentrations of 1 part per million or less (0.1-1 microgram BPA/gram dust).
Most of the studies also looked for other common environmental contaminants indust, although the studies were not consistent in the selection of contaminants foranalysis. Perhaps not surprisingly since dust collects most everything present inour surroundings, other contaminants were also frequently reported to bepresent. However, measuring the presence of contaminants doesn’t tell us where
they came from and, most importantly, whether their presence poses a healthconcern.
Are The Levels Of BPA In Dust A Health Concern?
Beyond simply measuring the presence of BPA in dust, most of the studies also
aimed to evaluate whether the levels found are a health concern. To do this,estimated intakes of BPA were calculated using standard assumptions for ingestionof dust by different age groups. Dust ingestion rates for infants and toddlers arehigher than for adults due to different behavior patterns for the different age
groups.
The importance of BPA exposure from ingestion of dust can then be evaluated in
two ways. First, exposure from dust can be compared with estimates of exposure
to BPA from all sources to determine whether dust is a significant source ofexposure. Second, exposure from dust can be compared to safe intake limits for
BPA that have been established by government bodies worldwide to determine
whether exposure to BPA from dust is a health concern.

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Not surprisingly, given the low concentrations of BPA found in dust, the researchersconsistently report that dust is a minor contributor of BPA exposure compared toother sources. From many other studies, it’s known that our diet is by far thebiggest source of exposure to BPA. In comparison, dust is estimated to compriseless than 5-10% of overall exposure to BPA.
Most importantly though, exposure to BPA from household dust is far below safe
intake limits set by government bodies. Even the highest estimated exposure toBPA from dust for all age groups is approximately 5,000 times below the safe
intake limit set by U.S. government bodies. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) answers the question “Is BPA safe?” with the straightforward
answer “Yes.”
These studies are reassuring in that the results and conclusions indicate that
exposure to BPA from dust is not a health concern. Nevertheless, any lingering
concerns regarding BPA or other environmental contaminants in dust can be further
mitigated through proper cleanliness and hygiene practices. Dust may magicallyappear but it doesn’t have to remain.

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