Terms to Know: What is Bisphenol-A?
BPA is just one single chemical from a larger family of chemicals called bisphenols. Bisphenol-A, or BPA, was first developed in 1891. In the mid 1930s, it was meant to be used as a synthetic estrogen but diethylstilbestrol (DES) ended up taking on that role instead.
In the 1950s, BPA was added to plastics and made them stronger, more durable, transparent, lightweight, and shatter-resistant, making them popular to use in packaging, storage, and manufacturing.