Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in plastics, cans, thermal papers such as receipts. Pregnant women as well as children become exposed to this chemical. February this year, an FDA press release and the FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb of the FDA himself called this chemical safe. In fact, Dr. Gottlieb tweeted, "#FDA continues to conclude BPA is safe for its currently authorized uses."
In a study of 98 children, 46 of them with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 52 controls, urine samples showed BPA metabolite concentrations about three times greater with the ASD group compared to controls and the "% bound BPA was" about "15 times higher with ASD," (T. Peter Stein, Margaret D. Schluter, Robert A. Steer, Lining Guo and Xue Ming, "Bisphenol A Exposure in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders," Autism Research 8, no. 3 (January 2015): doi:10.1022/aur.1444).
Another study linking ADHD and BPA was discussed in my book and involved 460 children. This study showed that boys and girls with BPA concentrations at or above the median were 11 and 2.8 times respectively to have an ADHD diagnosis, (Shruti Tewar, Peggy Auinger, Joseph M. Braun, Bruce Lanphear, Kinberly Yolton, Jeffery M. Epstein, Shelley Ehrlich, et. al, "Association of Bisphenol A Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a National Sample of U.S. Children," Environmental Research 150 (October 2016): 112-118, doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.05.040).
Before becoming FDA commissioner, "[b]etween 2013 and 2015, Gottlieb received consulting fees and speaking honoraria amounting to more than $400,000 from drug and device companies according to the federal OpenPayments database," (Judith Garber and Shannon Brown Lee, "Gottlieb as FDA Commissioner Would be music to Pharma's Ears," Stat, April 4, 2017). According to this article at that time, he was "a partner at New Enterprise Associates, a global venture capital firm that invests in technology and health care."
While the FDA has advocated to ban my brother's two second skin shock treatment, the FDA is allowing us to consume toxic chemicals that are linking to neurodevelopmental disorders. When children develop these disorders, parents often need significant funds and to educate themselves to obtain effective treatment.
The FDA needs to be protecting the public not private industries!