Green Warriors of Norway (Norges Miljøvernforbund)
Green Warriors of Norway/Norges Miljøvernforbund (NMF) raise several concerns regarding the increased use of Bisphenol A (BPA) and related chemicals and their impact on onshore and offshore environment and ecosystems. Much of the current and future impact will come from relatively new sources, and from sources that will increase in new areas and environments. One of the main sources of concern is from micro and nano sized particles released into the environment from epoxy-based products by erosion. Such particles that contain BPA related substances will protect its containing chemicals and protect them from degradation while they remain inside the particle materials, and like a Trojan Horse, be released into the food chain through organisms when in contact with their digestive system. It is also concerning that research show that BPA do generational harm to organisms according to a recent study of Rainbow trout.
These factors and more raise serious concerns as the development and placement of new installations reliant upon BPA containing epoxy structures reaches new frontiers with harsher and more challenging weather conditions. While chemicals like BPA in its pure form is degraded normally in a normal environment, salt water and colder temperatures in more arctic and sub-arctic environments will likely impact the rate of degradation significantly, which make them remain a potent biochemical pollutant for a much longer period than in more tempered environments. Within the protection of a micro-sized particle, they will remain a potent biochemical pollutant significantly longer than the chemical in its pure form.
With micro and nano sized particles found in larger and larger quantities on the farthest parts of the planet, from the furthest away glaciers to sediments on the deepest seabed, the concern is that our human impact on the various onshore and offshore environments accumulate and is irreversible.
We therefore need much stricter regulations and also serious incentives for the industry to find better alternatives and in the meantime stop the placement of new installations that release micro and nano sized particles containing BPA and similar chemicals to the environment.
You will find our concerns and demands in more detail on the following pages.
Download original document: “Bisphenol A: comments and evidence re: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, European Chemicals Agency [1]”
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[1] Bisphenol A: comments and evidence re: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, European Chemicals Agency: https://docs.wind-watch.org/Green-Warriors-of-Norway-ECHA_REACH-Bisphenol-comments-and-evidence.pdf