Scientists Call on EPA to Reassess Health Risk of Widespread Chemical

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Thu, 14 Apr 2005 13:55:43 GMT

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Scientists Call on EPA to Reassess Health Risk of Widespread

Chemical

 

Bush Greenwatch

 

April 14, 2005 | Back Issues

 

Scientists Call on EPA to Reassess Health Risk of Widespread Chemical

 

Controversy over the human health impacts of low doses of endocrine

disrupting chemicals escalated to a new level yesterday with

publication of an analysis in Environmental Health Perspectives. In a

follow-up teleconference with journalists, Drs. Fred vom Saal and

George Lucier called on the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct

a new risk assessment of the ubiquitous chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA).

 

The new report, co-authored by Dr. vom Saal, a neurobiologist at the

University of Missouri, and Claude Hughes, a biologist at East

Carolina University, evaluated 115 scientific studies of the health

impacts of BPA, a chemical used in most plastic containers, food and

beverage cans, dental sealants, plastic baby toys and bottles, and

other consumer products.

 

BPA leaches from these containers and into the food and drink they

contain. Water used in bathing and drinking is another source of

exposure. Large quantities of BPA leach into the soil under landfills,

and hence into the water supply.

 

The authors found that 94 of the studies showed harmful effects from

BPA in laboratory animals. They further found that of the 21 studies

finding no health effects, 11 were funded by industry.

 

The new study contrasts with a study completed in 2002 (but released

in 2004) by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, which concluded that

the " evidence for low-dose effects is very weak. " [1] The Center's

study was funded by the American Plastics Council.

 

The debate over BPA has become so intense that it has reached the

California state legislature, which is considering a ban on its use in

all products for children age three and under.

 

BPA is so widespread that it has been found in almost every American,

and, for that matter, most people in developed countries around the

globe. The critical health issue, said vom Saal, is that " the level in

humans is consistent with the level in animal studies " that find BPA

causing harm. Dr. Lucier, former director of the National Toxicology

Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,

added that " findings in rats and mice were extremely predictive " for

determining health effects in humans.

 

Studies have found that BPA mimics the female sex hormone estrogen,

and can interfere with such body processes as reproductive and brain

functions. Babies and infants are especially at risk since they are

irreversibly damaged by BPA. According to vom Saal, impacts can range

from hyperactivity to increased aggressiveness, learning disabilities,

and altered sex behavior as adults. BPA also decreases the male sex

hormone testosterone. BPA, says vom Saal, is " an extremely potent sex

hormone-like drug. "

 

Pointing out that regulatory responsbility for BPA is the purview of

many federal agencies--EPA, the Food and Drug Administration, Consumer

Product Safety Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health

Administration, among others--Drs. Lucier and vom Saal called for a

new risk assessment coordinated among all the involved agencies.

 

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NOTE: Extensive background materials on the BPA issue are available at

EMS.org.

 

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SOURCES:

[1] Harvard Center for Risk Analysis study.

 

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