Widely Used Plastic Leaches Dangerous Chemical
By Marla Cone - Los Angeles Times - 15 April 2005
Evidence is mounting that a chemical in plastic may be risky in
the small amounts that seep from bottles and food packaging, according
to a report to be published this week in a scientific journal.
Authors of the report, who reviewed more than 100 studies, urged
the Environmental Protection Agency to re-evaluate the risks of
bisphenol A and consider restricting its use.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, has been detected in nearly all human bodies
tested in the United States. It is a key building block in the manufacture
of hard, clear, polycarbonate plastics, including baby bottles,
water bottles and other food and beverage containers. The chemical
can leak from plastic, especially when containers are heated, cleaned
with harsh detergents or exposed to acidic foods or drinks.
The plastics chemical is the focus of one of the most-contentious
debates involving industrial compounds that can mimic sex hormones.
Toxicologists say exposure to man-made hormones skews the developing
reproductive systems and brains of newborn animals, and could be
having the same effects on human fetuses and young children.
Since the late 1990s, some experiments have found no effects at
the doses of BPA that people are exposed to, while others suggest
that it is estrogenic, blocks testosterone and harms lab animals
at low doses. Plastics-industry repres |
