WP: FDA Will Continue to Study Chemical (BPA)

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FDA Will Continue To Study Chemical

No Action Planned on Bisphenol A

By Lyndsey Layton

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 16, 2008; A03

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502920.html?wpisrc=newsletter

The Food and Drug Administration, criticized by its own scientific

advisers for ignoring available data about health risks posed by a

chemical found in everyday plastic, said yesterday it has no plans to

amend its position on the substance but will continue to study it.

The agency has been reviewing its risk assessments for bisphenol A, a

chemical used to harden plastic that is found in a wide variety of

products, from baby bottles to compact discs to the lining of canned

goods. The chemical, commonly called BPA, mimics estrogen and may

disrupt the body's carefully calibrated endocrine system.

BPA is found in the urine of more than 90 percent of the U.S.

population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention. Scientists believe it is most easily ingested after

leaching from plastic containers into food and drink. In September,

the first large study of BPA in humans found that people with higher

levels of bisphenol A had higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and

liver abnormalities.

Over the past decade, more than 130 studies have linked BPA to breast

cancer, obesity, diabetes, neurological problems and other disorders.

Much of the new research suggests that BPA has an effect at very low

doses -- lower than the current safety standard set by the FDA. The

most prominent finding was by the National Toxicology Program, part

of the National Institutes of Health, which reported that there

is " some concern " that BPA may affect the brain and behavioral

development of fetuses, infants and young children.

The FDA has maintained that BPA is safe, relying largely on two

studies that were funded by the chemical industry.

In October, the FDA was faulted by its own panel of independent

science advisers, who said the agency's position on BPA was

scientifically flawed. The panel said the agency should revisit its

assessment and take into account the studies it had ignored.

Yesterday, Tarantino, director of the FDA's Office of Food

Additive Safety, said the FDA will respond to that recommendation by

performing additional analysis. She said she did not know if it would

last months or years.

" I can't tell you when we will finalize this, " she said. " There is a

lot of work. "

She said one aspect the agency will examine is the cumulative BPA

exposure a person faces from numerous everyday items regulated by the

FDA -- among them food and beverage containers, plastic medical

devices such as tubing, and coatings on gel tablets.

Advocacy groups said the federal agency is squandering time and money.

" More years of research by FDA to determine what thousands of

scientists worldwide already know about the toxic chemical is a waste

of time, taxpayer dollars, and will place millions of babies yet to

be born at risk, " said Formuzis, a spokesman for the

Environmental Working Group.

Urvashi Rangan, senior scientist at Consumers Union, said the

government ought to ban BPA in products intended for infants and

children, whose developing bodies are thought to be most vulnerable

to the impact of estrogen-mimicking chemicals such as BPA.

" This is science happening in slow motion, " Rangan said. " There is a

lot of evidence happening out here already to suggest vulnerable

populations should not have to continue consuming BPA. "

Political pressure on the FDA to ban BPA is growing. Several states

have introduced bans of BPA in various products, and in the next

Congress, Rep. J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. E. Schumer

(D-N.Y.) are expected to reintroduce bills to ban BPA. Canada

declared BPA a " toxic substance " and plans to ban it from baby

bottles. A coalition of health and environmental groups meeting with

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is pushing a BPA ban

as a top priority.

A number of retailers and manufacturers, meanwhile, have been

offering BPA-free alternatives.