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<DIV style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" align=left><A
href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-plastics13apr13.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-plastics13apr13.story</A><BR>
<H4>THE NATION</H4>
<H1>Study Cites Risk of Compound in Plastic Bottles</H1>
<H2>Report urges the EPA to restrict bisphenol A, found widely in liquid and
food containers.</H2>By Marla Cone<BR>Times Staff Writer<BR><BR>April 13,
2005<BR><BR>Evidence is mounting that a chemical in plastic that is one of the
world's most widely used industrial compounds 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.<BR><BR>The authors of the report, who
reviewed more than 100 studies, urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
to re-evaluate the risks of bisphenol A and consider restricting its
use.<BR><BR>Bisphenol A, or BPA, has been detected in nearly all humans tested
in the U.S. 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 leach from the plastic, especially when
the containers are heated, cleaned with harsh detergents or exposed to acidic
foods or drinks. <BR><BR>The chemical is the focus of a contentious debate
involving industrial compounds that can mimic sex hormones. Toxicologists say
that 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.<BR><BR>Since the late 1990s, some experiments have found no
effects at the doses of BPA that people are exposed to, and others have
suggested that the chemical mimics estrogen, blocks testosterone and harms lab
animals at low doses. Plastics industry representatives say the trace amounts
that migrate from some products pose no danger and are far below safety
thresholds set by the EPA and other agencies.<BR><BR>In the new report, to be
published online in Environmental Health Perspectives on Thursday, scientists
Frederick vom Saal and Claude Hughes say that as of December, 115 studies have
been published examining low doses of the chemical, and 94 of them found harmful
effects. <BR><BR>In an interview Tuesday, Vom Saal, a reproductive biologist at
University of Missouri in Columbia, said there is now an "overwhelming weight of
evidence" that the plastics compound is harmful.<BR><BR>"This is a snowball
running down a hill, where the evidence is accumulating at a faster and faster
rate," Vom Saal said. <BR><BR>"You can't open a scientific journal related to
sex hormones and not read an article that would just floor you about this
chemical…. The chemical industry's position that this is a weak chemical has
been proven totally false. This is a phenomenally potent chemical as a sex
hormone."<BR><BR>In their study, Vom Saal and Hughes suggest an explanation for
the conflicting results of studies: All 11 of those funded by chemical companies
found no risk, while 90% of the 104 government-funded, non-industry studies
reported harmful effects.<BR><BR>One report, released by the Harvard Center for
Risk Analysis last fall and funded by the American Plastics Council, concluded
that "the evidence is very weak" that BPA has estrogen effects on males.
<BR><BR>The scientists at Harvard reviewed the results of 19 experiments on male
animals published before April 2002 and found no consistent
findings.<BR><BR>However, Vom Saal said, the Harvard report was prepared before
at least 60 other studies found harmful effects in lab animals, and it was too
narrowly focused because it looked at effects in males only. <BR><BR>Steven G.
Hentges, executive director of the polycarbonate business unit of the American
Plastics Council, said Tuesday that unlike the Harvard report, the new report
lists numbers of studies and pieces of data without analyzing them to determine
their strengths or weaknesses and whether they are relevant to human
beings.<BR><BR>"The sum of weak evidence does not make strong evidence," Hentges
said. "If you look at all the evidence together, it supports our conclusion that
BPA is not a risk to human health at the very low levels people are exposed to.
This paper does not change that conclusion. It has an opinion, not a scientific
conclusion."<BR><BR>Vom Saal and the plastics industry have been in an
escalating battle since 1997, when Vom Saal became the first researcher to
reveal effects in mice exposed to low doses of BPA. His discovery triggered new
scientific studies by industry and government.<BR><BR>The chemical, used in
polycarbonate plastics manufacture for half a century, is not subject to any
bans, even in Europe, which has prohibited many hormone-disrupting compounds.
The EPA last evaluated its risks in the 1980s, and a review by the European
Union was published in 2003.<BR><BR>In California, the Legislature is
considering a bill, introduced by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D-Alameda),
chairwoman of the Assembly's Health Committee, that would ban products intended
for children that contain BPA or other compounds called phthalates, used in some
plastic toys. <BR><BR>The plastics industry says there is no scientific basis
for removing the chemicals from children's products.<BR><BR>Polycarbonate
plastics, which are useful in items such as baby bottles because they are
durable, lightweight and shatter-resistant, cannot be made without BPA. Hentges
said the products have had "a strong and long safety record" for more than 50
years.<BR><BR>In addition to its use in hard plastics, BPA lines food and
beverage cans and is found in dental fillings and sealants, including some used
to prevent cavities in children.<BR><BR>Some government-funded tests on rodents
exposed to low levels have reported decreased testosterone, enlarged prostates
and lower sperm counts in newborn males and early puberty and disrupted hormonal
cycles in females. They also have reported hyperactivity and other neurological
changes in lab animals. </DIV><BR clear=all></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>