subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite map
Wed, Feb 10 2010 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
email this story   E-mail this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Photos


Globe/T. Rob Brown Taylor Gaines, an eighth-grader at Seneca Middle School, takes a close look at a substance this week in a science class. Her research project on bisphenol A won her an invitation to a national science competition.

Published October 28, 2008 04:56 pm - SENECA, Mo. — Taylor Gaines, 13, loves her baby brother, Jace, 2. But she feared her family was inadvertently poisoning him. Taylor, a Seneca eighth-grader, has been fascinated with science since she was 7 years old.

Seneca girl’s study becomes part of scientific debate w/ link to learn more about BPA



By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

SENECA, Mo. — Taylor Gaines, 13, loves her baby brother, Jace, 2.

But she feared her family was inadvertently poisoning him.

Taylor, a Seneca eighth-grader, has been fascinated with science since she was 7 years old. Her mother, Shannon Sample, is a science research teacher at Seneca High School. Her uncle works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

“I was surrounded by science,” Taylor said. “People would think I was so educated because I would listen to my mom talk at dinner.”

So when she heard reports that bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound that is a building block used in some plastics, could be hazardous to humans, she was concerned. BPA is used in a variety of plastic products, including Jace’s baby bottles and most brands of water bottles. Questions about whether it is harmful to human health have been around for years.

With her middle-school science fair coming up, Taylor decided to forgo the traditional solar system or volcano project, and instead do some BPA research that could directly affect her family.

Taylor was disturbed by what she found, and although the Environmental Protection Agency is standing by its estimated safe level of BPA, several recent national studies show the eighth-grader may be on the right track.

In her experiment, Taylor exposed planarian worms to different concentrations of BPA, including half of the EPA’s recommended safe level, as well as four times, 40 times and 400 times the recommended level.

Taylor said her experiment showed six abnormalities at all of the concentration levels. Those abnormalities include missing body parts, regeneration of too many body parts, tumor-like growths, undeveloped body parts and delayed re-growth of body parts.

She believes her research suggests that even federally recommended levels of BPA could be harmful to humans.

Suzanne Ackerman, EPA press officer, applauded Taylor’s research, and said she was amazed that an eighth-grade student took on such a weighty experiment. But Ackerman said the EPA’s safe level of BPA of 0.05 parts per million is safe for humans, but not for something as small as a worm.

“An oral reference dose is an estimate of how much of a chemical a human being could intake daily over a lifetime without harmful effects,” Ackerman said. “Besides the size comparison, the human metabolism is very, very different.”

But a study just released last month by the National Toxicology Program, an inter-agency federal research program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said that current human exposure to BPA is of “some concern” for its effects on the development of fetuses, infants and children.



print this story    email this story    comment on this story   

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.


Add a comment on this story







autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Announcements

Click here!!

: Special Offer For New Subscribers : 32 buy 1 get 1 free offers

Click Here!


Featured Jobs

LPN FOR MDS COORDINATOR
LPN FOR MDS Coordinator, experience required. Apply at Seneca House, 914 Chickesaw, Seneca, MO or call Holly at 417-776...>MORE

FRONT LOADER
driver needed, local routes, experienced driver preferred. Class B license required. Pay $10-$11 per hour. Call for inte...>MORE

ADMINSTRATOR/OFFICE MANAGER
ADMINISTRATOR/OFFICE MANAGER
Regional Eye Center PC. Busy multi doctor optimology practice seeks office manager/adm
...>MORE

TRANSPORTATION
Transportation Southwest Missouri trucking company has opening for day shift Broker/Dispatcher. Qualified person must h...>MORE

MECHANIC NEEDED
MECHANIC NEEDED Southwest MO trucking company seeks mechanic. Pay based on experience. Apply in person, 921 N. High Str...>MORE

RECEPTIONIST
busy law office seeking full-time receptionist. Previous experience required, mulit-tasking, computer skills, and great ...>MORE

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
Non-profit organization searching for Senior Accountant. Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, 3 to 5 years combination of pu...>MORE

See all ads

Featured Transportation

PONTIAC, 1999 SUNFIRE
148,000 miles, $2750. (417)540-9986...>MORE

2001 GRAND PRIX
Richard Petty Special Edition Package, $4995/offer. 417-317-2000....>MORE

CHEVROLET, 1999 MONTE CARLO
169,000 miles, $2750. (417)540-9986...>MORE

SATURN, 2001 SC-2
154,000 miles, $2850. (417)540-9986...>MORE

See all ads

Featured Homes

1 BR, BONUS ROOM
1 BR 1 ba, bonus room, 2115 S. Pennsylvania #B, Joplin. Refrigerator, stove, small storage shed, central heat/air, $385/...>MORE

VALENTINES GIFT
Unique Gorgeous Valentines Gift
1112 W. 5th, Joplin. Approximaitely 2200 sq. ft, could be 4,000 sq. ft. 3 br, 2 ba
...>MORE

5 ACRES INCLUDES UTILITIES
5 ACRES includes utilities + creek + paved road, near Downstream, $2,950 down, $500/month. owner finance. 800-720-8503...>MORE

See all ads

Other Cool Stuff

MINI SCHNAUZER
4 months, male, $75 with papers and accessories. (417)434-8830....>MORE

VALENTINE YORKIES
girls and boys, 8-weeks, smallest 1 lb. 7 oz., starting price $400. Home raised. All up to date. Comes with bed and carr...>MORE

BEAUTY SHOP EQUIPMENT
Beauty shop equipment, 4 styling chairs, $100 each; 4 floor mats, $50 each; 4 shampoo bowls with faucets, $50 each; 4 sh...>MORE

AKC ENGLISH BULLDOGS
AKC English Bulldogs, quality home raised puppies, born New Year’s eve, ready just in time for Valentines Day. $1000. (4...>MORE

APR FRENCH BULLDOG

14 week old female. Brindle with white markings. $900. 417-540-7490
...>MORE

FOR SALE DOBERMAN PUPS

6 males and 1 female, date of birth 1-18-2010 all black and rust, mom and dad for more information please call Je
...>MORE

GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPS
GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPS, AKC, shots, wormed, ready to go $250. (417)850-5060...>MORE

BLOOD PYTHONS
Blood PYTHONS Adult and juvenile Blood Pythons for sale. Adults are proven 100% het for albino. Adults are breeders and...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index

 

 

The Joplin Globe Electronic Edition