Chemical in Plastic Is Connected to Health Problems in Monkeys .. Washington Post September 4, 2008

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303397.html?hpid=sec-health Chemical in Plastic Is

Connected to Health Problems in Monkeys By Lyndsey Layton

Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday,

September 4, 2008; A02 Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have linked a chemical

found in everyday plastics to problems with brain function and mood disorders

in monkeys -- the first time the chemical has been connected to health problems

in primates. The study is the latest in an accumulation of research that has

raises concerns about bisphenol A, or BPA, a compound that gives a shatterproof

quality to polycarbonate plastic and has been found to leach from plastic into

food and water. The Yale study comes as

federal toxicologists yesterday reaffirmed an earlier draft report finding that

there is "some concern" that bisphenol A can cause developmental

problems in the brain and hormonal systems of infants and children. "There remains considerable uncertainty whether the changes

seen in the animal studies are directly applicable to humans, and whether they

would result in clear adverse health effects," R. Bucher, associate

director of the National Toxicology Program, said in a statement. "But we

have concluded that the possibility that BPA may affect human development

cannot be dismissed." In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences, the Yale team exposed monkeys to levels of

bisphenol A deemed safe for humans by the Environmental Protection Agency

and found that the chemical interfered with brain cell connections vital to

memory, learning and mood. "Our findings suggest that exposure to low-dose BPA may have

widespread effects on brain structure and function," the authors wrote. In

contrast to earlier research on rodents, the Yale researchers studied monkeys

to better approximate the way BPA might affect humans. "Our goal was to more closely mimic the slow and continuous

conditions under which humans would normally be exposed to BPA," said

study author Csaba Leranth, a Yale professor of obstetrics, gynecology and

reproductive sciences and of neurobiology. BPA, in commercial use since the 1950s, is found in a wide variety

of everyday items, including sports bottles, baby bottles, food containers and

compact discs. One recent federal study estimated that the chemical is found in

the urine of 93 percent of the population. The American Chemistry Council,

a trade group, maintained yesterday that "there is no direct evidence that

exposure to bisphenol A adversely affects human reproduction or

development." The National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health,

has no power to regulate BPA, but its findings are used by other federal

agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration

and the EPA, which set safe exposure limits for chemicals. The FDA plays a critical regulatory role because it regulates the

compound's use in plastic food containers, bottles, tableware and the plastic

linings of canned foods. The agency last month issued a draft report that declared BPA safe

for use in food packaging and bottles, based largely on the strength of two

studies, both funded by industry. "Unfortunately the regulatory agency charged with protecting

the public health continues to rely on industry-based research to arrive at its

conclusions, rather than examining the totality of scientific evidence," Rep. D. Dingell

(D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee,

said in a statement yesterday. His committee is investigating the FDA's

handling of BPA. U.S. manufacturers make about 7 billion

pounds of BPA annually. A ban would affect thousands of businesses and perhaps

billions of dollars in profit for its largest manufacturers. Canada has said it intends to ban the use of

BPA in baby bottles, and state and federal lawmakers have proposed a variety of

BPA bans. Sen. E. Schumer

(D-N.Y.) is sponsoring a bill to prohibit BPA from children's products, while Rep. J. Markey

(D-Mass.) wants to bar it from all food and drink packaging. "The FDA's assurances of BPA's safety are out of step with

mounting scientific evidence to the contrary," Markey said yesterday.

"For the sake of the health of every man, woman and child in

America , we

should ban BPA in food and beverage containers, especially because there are

alternatives already available." Several major retailers, including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us,

have pledged to drop BPA products next year while some makers of baby bottles

and sports bottles have switched to BPA-free plastic.