The BPA ban in Germany is still being disputed

After other influencing factors could be ruled out, it turned out that women with a high bisphenol A value during pregnancy were more likely to have hyperactive, aggressive, anxious or depressed daughters who could not control their emotions. Such a connection could not be established for boys.

Which products should you avoid?

The study confirms two previous research that pointed to the impact of bisphenol A on child behavior in the womb. However, the current study shows for the first time that stress in the womb is more serious than in later years.

Also because not all connections between bisphenol A and developmental disorders are known, the scientists recommend largely avoiding food cans, plastic-wrapped food or plastic bottles that are marked with the recycling number 7.

Many plastic and baby products are contaminated with bisphenol-A. Bisphenol-A is a hormonally active chemical and is suspected of rendering sterile, damaging brain development, and causing cancer. Dr. Andreas Gies from the Federal Environment Agency gives advice on how families can protect themselves.

Industry should do without BPA

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a basic material for the production of the plastic polycarbonate, which is found in plastic cutlery, feeding bottles, baby cups and pacifier shields, but also in beverage packaging or in the inner coating of many cans. At the same time, BPA is a hormonally effective chemical that has a similar effect on the body as the sex hormone estrogen. In the magazine Eltern, Dr. Andreas Gies, Head of the Environment and Health Department at the Federal Environment Agency, told the industry to refrain from using BPA.

Estrogen-like substance causes disease

BPA is said to damage brain development and even cause cancer and infertility. In studies, for example, mice developed an enlarged prostate after administration of the chemical, became sexually mature earlier or exhibited poorer sperm quality. Hormonal chemicals like bisphenol-A are especially dangerous for babies and young children. Their bodies are not yet able to break down pollutants well. In addition, the substances could interfere with children’s development, experts fear.

Not yet banned in Germany

A legal ban on BPA in Germany is still being disputed. Unlike in Denmark and France, where use in products for children is now prohibited. The European Food Safety Authority still classifies a daily intake of 50 millionths of a gram per kilogram of body weight as harmless. Health expert Gies: “We even consider a millionth of a gram per kilogram of weight per day to be far too high!”

Manufacturers are already reacting

At the end of 2009, however, several manufacturers in Germany removed pacifiers with bisphenol A from their range. They responded to a study by the Federal Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND), which had detected BPA in a number of baby pacifiers. The BUND also calls for bisphenol A to be generally banned in baby items and in products that come into contact with food.

How to recognize BPA-free products

As long as there is no ban, the expert advises parents to proceed in this way: “Many manufacturers now offer BPA-free plastic items and label them accordingly – pay attention to notes such as ‘BPA-free’. Polycarbonate products containing BPA are usually the other way round to be recognized by a character ‘7 PC’ embossed in an arrow triangle. “

Switch to glass and porcelain

Mothers and fathers who want absolute security should switch entirely to glass and porcelain.123helpme.me Gies: “Both can be heated, scrubbed, filled with something acidic and so on, without releasing pollutants. In addition, it is advisable to buy fresh, unpackaged food as possible and to ensure a varied diet. The reason: the more varied the menu the lower the risk of absorbing a lot of a pollutant. “

Very important: Drinking bottles should never be heated in the microwave, because then BPA is released into the food.

The city will announce a decision on the looming cancellation of this year’s Bad Hersfeld Festival due to the Corona crisis on Tuesday (April 14). Then the result of the deliberations and the vote of the main and finance committee will be published, as a city spokesman said on Thursday evening. The municipal committee was unable to meet on Thursday as usual, but was only able to interconnect by phone because of the pandemic.

What the conference call resulted in was not announced that evening. Because according to the Hessian municipal code, consultations can be carried out over the phone, but votes or decisions are not allowed. They must be made by the committee members after the meeting and communicated to the administration in writing.

Due to the currently incalculable developments in the corona crisis and the associated restrictions on contact and assembly, observers are expecting the festival to be canceled – the 70th anniversary season of all things.

Last year almost 100,000 people came to the performances of the nationally important Bad Hersfeld Festival. This year, the premiere of the production “Der Club der toten Dichter” by director Joern Hinkel is scheduled for June 26th. The musical “Goethe” (director: Gil Mehmert) is planned as another world premiere for the anniversary season. According to the current planning, the festival should last until 23 August.

Other cultural events in spring and summer have already been canceled due to the Corona crisis, such as the International May Festival in Wiesbaden. The hope there is, however, that after the strict contact restrictions have ended, a “May Festival Special 2020” may be offered. “We are ready to reopen our house at any time,” said the director of the Hessian State Theater in Wiesbaden, Uwe Eric Laufenberg.

The Brothers Grimm Festival is also canceled this season due to the corona pandemic. They should take place from May 15th to July 26th in Hanau. For the opening of the 36th season, the musical “The brave little tailor” was planned on the stage in the amphitheater of Philippsruhe Palace.

Parts of Bad Hersfeld are to be better protected against traffic noise from Autobahn 4 with a project worth millions. For 96.4 million euros, several measures are to be implemented on a nearly four-kilometer section, as the Ministry of Transport in Wiesbaden announced on Wednesday. The occasion is the signing of a planning approval decision for the expansion of the Bad Hersfeld-West section.

Transport Minister Tarek Al-Wazir (Greens) declared: “For the residential areas of Eichhof and Johannesberg, which are located directly on the motorway, ten-meter high noise barriers are installed, and sound-absorbing, open-pored asphalt is being laid over the entire section, which will significantly reduce noise pollution in the entire urban area.” In addition, the two bridges over the federal highway 62 and the Fulda will be renewed. The federal government assumes the funds for the construction projects.

The project is part of the six-section expansion of the A4 between the Kirchheimer Dreieck and the Wildeck-Obersuhl junction. According to the ministry, more than a billion euros are expected to be invested in the maintenance, conversion, expansion and construction of roads and bridges in Hesse this year.

A man attacked a supermarket in Bad Hersfeld (Hersfeld-Rotenburg district). The offender, described as slightly corpulent, threatened the employees with a weapon on Friday evening and stole cash, the police said on Saturday. Then he fled in an unknown direction. The police is now looking for witnesses. The employees were unharmed. The police did not provide any information about the amount of money stolen.

According to the Verdi union, employees of the online retailer Amazon have stopped working at two locations in Bad Hersfeld. The strike started with the night shift from Sunday to Monday, said a spokeswoman for the local union. It should last until Tuesday evening. The union wanted to disrupt the processing of orders for the high-turnover “Black Friday” at the Internet mail order company.

The background to the strike is the demands for collective bargaining regulations to protect health and the recognition of collective bargaining agreements in the retail and mail order business. According to Verdi, more than 500 employees had already stopped working last week. “Customers who are on the hunt for bargains at Amazon should bear in mind that this is bought with poor working conditions and unfair, because not collectively agreed, wages. This gives Amazon a competitive advantage over other retail companies,” said the union’s spokeswoman.

Amazon says it is calm about the strike. “As every day, our teams concentrate on getting the parcels to the customer. The actions do not have any impact on customer deliveries, the vast majority of employees work normally,” said a statement.

A motorcyclist died on Tuesday in a traffic accident on Autobahn 4 between the Friedewald and Bad Hersfeld junctions. The man had fallen, the police said. Presumably he had previously collided with a car. The motorcyclist died at the scene of the accident.

Employees of the online retailer Amazon want to put pressure on in Bad Hersfeld (Hersfeld-Rotenburg district) with a strike lasting several days in the years of struggle for a collective agreement. According to the Verdi union, employees in the two plants at the Hessian site stopped working late Wednesday when the night shift began. The strike should last until Saturday. Verdi has also called for work stoppages at other Amazon locations.

Due to the corona pandemic, rallies will not be held, said the Verdi strike leader. The strikers were only supposed to drive to a trade fair site in order to collect their strike documents. How many have stopped work can only be assessed on Saturday.

Around the high-turnover shopping day “Black Friday”, the Verdi union called for work stoppages at seven German shipping centers. According to Verdi, around 3,500 people are employed by Amazon in Bad Hersfeld. Around 500 seasonal workers are also employed during the Christmas business.

At Amazon in Germany there have been repeated strikes for years – without any tangible results in the deadlocked conflict. Amazon argues that the company offers payment at the upper end of the industry standard in logistics, plus there are career opportunities and many extras.

Around two weeks after a strike, Amazon employees in Bad Hersfeld stopped working again on Monday. “There are currently 250 employees on the early shift on strike,” said Verdi union secretary Mechthild Middeke. They expect 500 employees to take part in the strike throughout the day. According to Amazon, work stoppages were also called for the Leipzig and Koblenz locations. According to the company, Amazon customers will not feel any of this. “The packages arrive on time, because the majority of the employees take care of customer orders as normal,” said an Amazon spokesman.

Verdi wants to strike the largest German mail order location of the industry giant in Bad Hersfeld by Saturday. The union is demanding a collective agreement. Most recently, Amazon employees went on strike during the “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” discount campaigns in November.

Since May 2013 there have been repeated strikes at Amazon in Germany. Verdi calls for collective bargaining to begin. Amazon strictly rejects this. The group argues that its employees work in the logistics industry and not in retail. “We pay at the upper end of comparable jobs, offer additional services and excellent opportunities for further development,” said the Amazon spokesman.

In a parking lot on the main road in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district, a sports car burned out for reasons that are not yet clear. The fire brigade had to move in to put out the fire between Bad Hersfeld and Ludwigsau. According to the police, the damage amounted to around 100,000 euros. People were not harmed. “Much indicates a technical defect,” said a police spokesman on Sunday. The fire broke out on Saturday in the engine compartment of the Italian manufacturer.

The theater maker and director of the Bad Hersfeld Festival, Joern Hinkel, fears less quality on the stage because of the Corona crisis. “You will have to reduce one or the other. That will probably lead to losses,” said the 49-year-old of the German press agency with a view to changed working conditions. Due to distance and hygiene rules, theaters and festivals cannot currently be fully occupied in the auditorium. This leads to lower income expectations and fewer resources for productions.

Hinkel said: “We certainly have to think about quality and quantity. You won’t always be able to draw on unlimited resources – when it comes to the number of actors and the equipment on stage. But what’s really important is content and stories.”

After the corona-related cancellation of the festival, Hinkel already has to think about the next season. “We calculate with different scenarios because we don’t know how the financial situation and the situation with the virus will develop.” But he is certain that two premieres planned for this season will be shown in summer 2021: the musical “Goethe” and “The Club of Dead Poets”. Hinkel wants to stage the play himself. What else will be on the program is still uncertain: “We have to think about it.