Despite these warning signs, there are no regulations for workplace exposure to BADGE, and the Food and Drug Administration continues to allow both BADGE and BPA use in can linings, arguing that exposure levels are low and that the chemical clears the body rapidly when ingested. An FDA spokesperson pointed EHN to its policy on approving food contact materials and said the agency “ is not aware of any new information that has raised concern about the safety of BADGE under its intended use.” The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has the authority to develop standards for art materials, declined to comment on whether the agency was addressing BADGE in epoxy resins, but directed EHN to a guide on health hazards in art supplies. When BPA is breathed in or absorbed through the skin, however, Hunt said her research shows it gets into the blood and lingers. And that’s how woodworkers would be exposed—through skin contact when mixing and pouring the resin materials, or by breathing in dust when sanding the cured plastics. “As you sand … you're probably getting a nice coating on your body, some of which is making its way into your body” even if you’re using a vacuum system on the wood dust, said Hunt. Fully cured resins in theory would not release BADGE when sanded, at least in the short-term, but “very few reactions are ever 100 percent complete,” said Collins. That residual BADGE could become airborne on dust during finishing.