 Bisphenol A or BPA for short is one of the more contentious chemicals on the block at the moment. Companies making BPA and the products it contains claim that the substance is safe if used sensibly, but others aren't so sure. Part of the problem is that BPA behaves like an artificial hormone and some research indicates that it could have a whole range of undesirable impacts if enough gets into your body. This is especially the case if you're young or haven't even been born yet, but so far the evidence of people actually suffering because they were exposed to BPA remains controversial. Risk bites will be delving more into the science behind BPA risks in later episodes, but before getting into the risks and benefits it makes sense to talk about what the stuff actually is and where it's used. Bisphenol A is a man-made organic chemical that was first synthesized in 1891. It's a primary component of polycarbonate plastic, that tough, transparent plastic that's used to make everything from water bottles to aeroplane parts and DVDs to eyeglass lenses. It's also used in epoxy resin, extremely strong and versatile polymers that, among other things, are used to line the inside of food cans. This is done to prevent what's in the can corroding through the metal and letting in unpleasant stuff like botulinum producing bacteria. BPA is also used in carbonless copy paper and thermal paper as the ingredient that ensures you can see what was tight, which means that there's a pretty good chance you have some BPA containing cash register receipts hanging around. So this BPA stuff is a useful and widely used chemical, but is it safe? As you might imagine, that depends on how much can get into the body, whose body it gets into and what it does once it gets there. Now we've covered what Bisphenol A is, I'll be looking more into the potential risks and benefits in later episodes of Risk Bites. For more insights into the science of risk, don't forget to subscribe to Risk Bites.