Chemical in plastic prompts scientists' warning

In an unusual effort targeting a single chemical, several dozen scientists on Thursday issued a strongly worded statement warning that an estrogenlike compound in plastic is likely to be causing an array of serious reproductive disorders in people.

The compound, bisphenol A (BPA), is one of the highest-volume chemicals in 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 other materials. It is used in all polycarbonate plastic baby bottles, as well as other rigid plastic items, including large water-cooler containers, sports bottles and microwave-oven dishes, along with canned-food liners and some dental sealants for children.

The scientists, including four from federal health agencies, reviewed about 700 studies before concluding that people are exposed to levels of the chemical exceeding those that harm lab animals. Infants and fetuses are most vulnerable, they said.

The statement, published online by the journal Reproductive Toxicology, was accompanied by a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health finding uterine damage in newborn animals exposed to BPA. That damage is a possible predictor of reproductive diseases in women, including fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries and cancers. It is the first time BPA has been linked to female reproductive-tract disorders, although earlier studies have found early-stage prostate and breast cancer and decreased sperm counts in animals exposed to low doses.

No studies so far have looked for effects in people.

The scientists' statement and new study — along with five accompanying scientific reviews that summarize the 700 studies — intensify a highly contentious debate over whether the plastic compound poses a public threat. So far, no governmental agency here or abroad has restricted its use.

Representatives of the plastics industry on Thursday lambasted the scientists as alarmist and biased, and said they based their conclusions on inconsistent and uncertain science.

"Considering many of these people have made their views known in the past, is there any surprise?" asked Steve Hentges of the American Chemistry Council's polycarbonate/BPA group. He said many of the scientists who signed the statement have conflicts of interest because they have either studied BPA and reported effects or "already taken a very clear advocacy position.

"They are completely at odds with the findings of every governmental scientific body that has reviewed the same science," he said.

Government scientific committees in Europe and Japan recently decided there is insufficient evidence to restrict the compound. Next week, a U.S. expert panel convenes to consider declaring BPA a human reproductive toxin, a possible first step toward federal regulation.