US - American health fears over gender bender chemical Bisphenol A

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American health fears over gender bender chemical

25-April-2008

Concern in the USA is growing over the potential health impacts of an 

oestrogen-mimicking chemical widely used in the manufacture of plastics.

The possible dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA) have long been a bone of 

contention between environmentalists and the chemical industry but 

this week the US National Toxicology Programme published a report on 

the substance which rekindled the flames of debate.

The report concluded that there was valid reason to be concerned about 

the chemical's effect on neurological and sexual development of 

children, infants and foetuses but that impacts on adults was likely 

to be negligible.

Children are at particular risk because they have not fully developed 

the bodily functions to safely process the chemical and, in ratio to 

their size, eat more than adults- with food being the main source of 

exposure to BPA.

BPA is most commonly encountered in plastic baby bottles, water 

bottles, food containers and linings of tin cans.

Tests on laboratory animals show that even low levels of exposure to 

BPA can can cause changes in behaviour and the brain, prostate gland, 

mammary gland and the age at which females attain puberty.

"These studies only provide limited evidence for adverse effects on 

development and more research is needed to better understand their 

implications for human health," says the NTP study.

"However, because these effects in animals occur at bisphenol A 

exposure levels similar to those experienced by humans, the 

possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be 

dismissed."

Research into BPA exposure is a growth area in American academia at 

the moment.

Earlier this year, scientists from the University of Cincinnati 

published findings that bottles containing BPA released more of the 

chemical into their contents when heated - raising fears among parents 

who sterilise plastic baby bottles by boiling them.

-

Sam Bond

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© Faversham House Group Ltd 2008.