Who's Down With OBPA?

I wouldn't be. Oxybisphenoxarsine - C24H16As2O3.  Also known as Vinyzene, Intercide ABF and Acticide, it is an arsenic based "biocide" put in many plastics as an antimicrobial. I'll give a laundry list of the "type" of products to which this substance is added; the list of specific products is vast, uncollected and would be too numerous to mention. It's in EVERYTHING.  OBPA is found in a variety of plastics, including PVC, shower curtains, bath mats and swimming pool liners; things that keep our feet toasty, such as carpets and rugs; comfy things to sit and sleep on, including car upholstery, marine upholstery, mattresses, and your sofa. It's in Polyurethane (think plastic containers, Lycra, Wellington Boots, insulation).  One book mentioning the wonders of polyurethane notes that when polyurethane's useful life is over it can be burned as fuel in municipal incinerators -meaning that this compound is also burned.  John Emsley, Molecules at an Exhibition: Portraits of Intriguing Materials in Everyday Life, 139.

The EPA recognizes that OBPA has a "high toxicity" (Anatole A. Klyoslov, Wood-Plastic Composites, 4); however,  the EPA allows use of this chemical because research, presented of course from the manufacturer, demonstrated that humans did not ingest it directly, the arsenic leached "slowly" from the compound, and it would impact minimally on the environment. However, research has demonstrated that the substance is particularly susceptible to leaching in areas of high precipitation. D. Nichols, Biocides in Plastics, 19-20.  Further, there does not appear to be much regulation regarding its use in consumer products that might hold substances meant for human consumption; OBPA has been found to leach from such products into the substance they contain, including a backpack with a water- carrying insert.  See  William R. Cullen, Is Arsenic An Aphrodesiac: The Sociochemestry of an Element.    So, where might one find excessive precipitation? The shower? The pool?  A boat? It is also subject to fungal degradation, which could transform the compound into a more toxic arsenic compound. Throw away those moldy shower curtains!