Most massage therapists are women, who are at greater risk of breast cancer than men—although males can develop the disease as well.

Nearly 200 scientific studies show that exposures to even low doses of BPA, particularly during pregnancy and early infancy, are associated with a wide range of adverse health effects later in life, including increased breast cancer risk, according to a press release from the Breast Cancer Fund.

"Yet most people are exposed to BPA every day," the press release noted. "In fact, the CDC found BPA in 93 percent of all Americans tested, and the National Institutes of Health point to food packaging as a major route of exposure."

The Breast Cancer Fund is a national organization working to identify and eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has formally petitioned the U.S.

"This is the first time a member of Congress has used the FDA's citizen petition process to pressure the FDA to take regulatory action, signaling a growing frustration on the part of policymakers and the public alike with the FDA's failure to act on this critical public health issue," the press release noted.

An article running in the March print issue of MASSAGE Magazine, "Plastics in Food Packaging," by our Good Eats columnist Erin Zimniewicz Williams, discusses the effects of BPAs in plastics.

The Breast Cancer Fund submitted a letter of support for Markey's petitions, signed by environmental health, public health, children's health and health care professional organizations representing millions of concerned citizens.

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