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.
