Answers.Body: <p>Most LEGO and DUPLO parts are made from ABS plastic. ABS does not contain BPA. Here's a statement from LEGO about the safety of ABS:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The majority of LEGO elements are made from ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), a high-quality plastic that meets our extensive list of safety and quality specifications. The colors and materials in ABS plastic do not rub off or leach and, in fact, meet the same material standards for safety that are required of plastic eating utensils.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>A few LEGO elements are made of other materials. Polycarbonate, for example, is used for transparent elements because it provides much better optical clarity than ABS. Polycarbonate may contain BPA. I haven't seen an official statement from LEGO about this, but I'm guessing that some elements do contain BPA or have in the past.</p>
  
  <p>This is a bit beyond the scope of the question, but I thought it might be worth noting that the World Health Organization, US Food and Drug Administration, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the European Food Safety Authority all maintain that there is no health risk from BPA exposure. Here's a <a href="http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/150121">statement from the EFSA</a>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>EFSA’s comprehensive re-evaluation of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and
    toxicity concludes that BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any
    age group (including unborn children, infants and adolescents) at
    current exposure levels. Exposure from the diet or from a combination
    of sources (diet, dust, cosmetics and thermal paper) is considerably
    under the safe level (the “tolerable daily intake” or TDI).</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>People are obviously free to form their own views on what chemicals they are choosing to expose themselves and their families to, but I just thought that it was worth noting that most government agencies view BPA as being fairly benign at this point.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-03-29T01:42:58.817Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-03-29T01:55:19.403Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2016-03-29T01:55:19.403Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Body: <p>I have some older DUPLO sets. I am concerned about the BPA that might be in them. Do any current sets of DUPLO or LEGO contain BPA? Did they in earlier sets?</p>
  
Tags: <plastics>
Title: BPA in older LEGO
UserDisplayName: marsha
ThreadText: # BPA in older LEGO
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-29)
  
  I have some older DUPLO sets. I am concerned about the BPA that might be in them. Do any current sets of DUPLO or LEGO contain BPA? Did they in earlier sets?
  
  **Tags:** plastics
  
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  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-03-29. Score: 7
  
  Most LEGO and DUPLO parts are made from ABS plastic. ABS does not contain BPA. Here's a statement from LEGO about the safety of ABS:
  
  > The majority of LEGO elements are made from ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), a high-quality plastic that meets our extensive list of safety and quality specifications. The colors and materials in ABS plastic do not rub off or leach and, in fact, meet the same material standards for safety that are required of plastic eating utensils.
  
  A few LEGO elements are made of other materials. Polycarbonate, for example, is used for transparent elements because it provides much better optical clarity than ABS. Polycarbonate may contain BPA. I haven't seen an official statement from LEGO about this, but I'm guessing that some elements do contain BPA or have in the past.
  
  This is a bit beyond the scope of the question, but I thought it might be worth noting that the World Health Organization, US Food and Drug Administration, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the European Food Safety Authority all maintain that there is no health risk from BPA exposure. Here's a [statement from the EFSA](http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/150121):
  
  > EFSA’s comprehensive re-evaluation of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and
  > toxicity concludes that BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any
  > age group (including unborn children, infants and adolescents) at
  > current exposure levels. Exposure from the diet or from a combination
  > of sources (diet, dust, cosmetics and thermal paper) is considerably
  > under the safe level (the “tolerable daily intake” or TDI).
  
  People are obviously free to form their own views on what chemicals they are choosing to expose themselves and their families to, but I just thought that it was worth noting that most government agencies view BPA as being fairly benign at this point.
  
  
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