We’re all gonna die:
For the first time, the federal government is raising health alarms about bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical in plastics that is used in such varied items as dental fillings, baby bottles and sports water bottles.
The National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, released a draft report today that says exposure to the chemical may be linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer, early puberty in girls and such behavioral changes as hyperactivity. It urged further study.
The report marks a significant departure from earlier positions taken by the government, which had maintained there was a negligible human health risk associated with BPA.
“This is breaking new scientific ground,” said Anila Jacob, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit public health group. “It says that at very low doses, similar to what people are exposed to now, BPA poses a risk of adverse health conditions.”
Steven G. Hentges, executive director of the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group at the American Chemistry Council, said the new report does not mean BPA is unsafe.
“It found no serious or high level concerns for human health,” he said, adding that the report called for additional research. “More research is always considered valuable.”
Infants are the population potentially most vulnerable to BPA exposure because the chemical is used in baby bottles as well as the lining of baby formula cans. “Formula fed infants are at especially high risk,” Jacob said. “They get a double exposure.”
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