September 4th, 2008
The hits keep coming against plastic bottles with bisphenol-A
The hits keep coming against bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical used in plastics we come in contact with every day.
BPA was, until recently, used in most Nalgene bottles found on workers’ desk and in baby bottles, as well as food containers. Some 93% of us have detectable levels of this in our bodies.
The latest hit is a study from the Yale School of Medicine, which gave monkeys what the EPA considers a “safe” dose of the chemical and found negative impacts on mood and memory.
“Our primate model indicates that BPA could negatively affect brain function in humans,” said study co-author Tibor Hajszan, M.D., associate research scientist in Yale Ob/Gyn. “Based on these new findings, we think the EPA may wish to consider lowering its ‘safe daily limit’ for human BPA consumption.”
But this comes just as the National Institutes of Health has come out with a limited all-clear on BPA. The National Toxicology Program says there is still “some concern” about BPA but has not recommended any action be taken.
Many of America’s headline writers agree:
- An “ongoing debate” says KSBY-TV in San Luis Obispo.
- It “might be harmful” writes eFluxMedia.
- Some concerns remain, writes WebMD.
- Federal health experts “remain concerned” says the Wall Street Journal.
Someone check these folks’ water bottles. Tests of BPA done with doses now present in your body show reduction in brain function from this chemical. Not just in babies, but in adult primates. Most of these headline writers are, I assume, adult primates.
Activist Richard Wiles said in response that the chemical industry is following “the tobacco industry’s playbook” on BPA. The American Chemical Council said the same report “identified no serious human health concerns.”
Bloggers are starting to write about this as a big, big scandal. (The 3-D model of bisphenol-A above comes from one such blog, Adiaha.com.) The issue is rapidly gaining traction.
The FDA plans a hearing on this September 16. Both academics and lobbyists have been invited. It’s going to be “fun” for reporters, and could be political dynamite.
Think this might get into the Vice Presidential debate? I do.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 09/04/08
