OT/Scientists issue warning about chemical in plastic

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Scientists issue warning about chemical in plasticBy Marla ConeTimes Staff Writerhttp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-plastics3aug03,0,234908.story6:49 PM PDT, August 2, 2007In an unusual effort targeting a single chemical, several dozen scientistson Thursday issued a strongly worded consensus statement warning that anestrogen-like compound in plastic is likely to be causing an array ofserious reproductive disorders in people.The compound, bisphenol A or BPA, is one of the highest-volume chemicalsin the world and has found its way into the bodies of most human beings.Used to make hard plastic, BPA can seep from beverage containers and othermaterials. It is used in all polycarbonate plastic baby bottles, as wellas other rigid plastic items, including large water cooler containers,sports bottles and microwave oven dishes, along with canned food linersand some dental sealants for children.The scientists -- including four from federal health agencies -- reviewedabout 700 studies before concluding that people are exposed to levels ofthe chemical exceeding those that harm lab animals. Infants and fetusesare most vulnerable, they said.The statement, published online by the journal Reproductive Toxicology,was accompanied by a new study by researchers from the National Institutesof Health finding uterine damage in newborn animals exposed to BPA. Thatdamage is a possible predictor of reproductive diseases in women,including fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries and cancers. It is thefirst time BPA has been linked to female reproductive tract disorders,although earlier studies have found early-stage prostate and breast cancerand decreased sperm counts in animals exposed to low doses.The scientists' statement and new study -- along with five accompanyingscientific reviews that summarize the 700 studies -- intensify a highlycontentious debate over whether the plastic compound poses a publicthreat. So far no governmental agency here or abroad has restricted itsuse.Representatives of the plastics industry on Thursday lambasted thescientists as alarmist and biased, and said they based their conclusionson inconsistent and uncertain science."Considering many of these people have made their views known in the past,is there any surprise? Is there really anything new?" said Steve Hentgesof the American Chemistry Council's polycarbonate/BPA group.Hentges said the scientists who signed the consensus statement wereself-selected, leaving out many experts, and that many have conflicts ofinterest because they have either studied BPA and reported effects or"have already taken a very clear advocacy position."They are completely at odds with the findings of every governmentalscientific body that has reviewed the same science," he said.Two government scientific committees in Europe and Japan recently decidedthere is insufficient evidence to restrict the compound. Europe's foodsafety agency decided in January that the data were inconclusive, largelybecause of metabolic differences between mice and humans, and because itis uncertain the amounts people are exposed to pose a human health threat.Next week, a U.S. expert panel convenes to decide whether to declare BPA ahuman reproductive toxin, which could be a first step toward federalregulation. The review by the panel of the federal Center for theEvaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, part of the National Institutesof Health, has been controversial. The Times reported in March that itspreliminary report on BPA was written by a consulting firm with financialties to the chemical industry that has since been fired by the Center.Frederick vom Saal, a University of Missouri at Columbia reproductivetoxicologist, said the scientists' statement on BPA "is very differentthan any other approach to any chemical.""We now have, without a doubt, the most comprehensive set of documentscovering every aspect of bisphenol A and the hope here is that governmentpanels will actually look at this information, digest it, and incorporateit into their decision-making," said vom Saal, who is the most vocalscientist studying BPA.No studies have been conducted looking for effects in people, and one goalof the scientists who signed the statement is to generate human research.Jerrold Heindel, a scientist with the National Institute of EnvironmentalHealth Sciences who organized a meeting last fall to begin drafting thestatement, said even though there have been no human studies of BPA, thereis now so much animal data that the 38 experts believe that potentialhuman damage is likely. More than 150 studies have found health effects inanimals exposed to low doses."We know what doses the animals were given, and when we look at humans, wesee blood levels within that range or actually higher, which is a cause ofconcern and should stimulate more human research," he said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein