BOSTON—Massachusetts banned the production or sale of plastic products containing bisphenol A (BPA), which are intended for use by children under the age of 3, in what policymakers called a “precautionary measure.” The chemical is used to make hard plastic items. It may leak into food.
Government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services remain undecided about the true health effects of BPA consumption. Currently, the FDA does not ban the substance. Earlier scientific tests found it to be safe.
The integrity of these earlier studies has, however, come under question by both scientists and activists. Some scientists found that four of the industry-funded studies that found BPA to be safe were greatly flawed.
More recent studies performed by the National Institute of Health’s Toxicology Program have raised concerns over the effect of BPA “on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures.”
Further possible health effects of BPA consumption include breast and prostate cancer, regional decline in sperm counts, abnormal penile/urethra development in males, early sexual maturation in females, increasing neurobehavioral problems, increasing prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, and immune system effects, according to Environment and Human Health, Inc., a nonprofit organization that conducts research on health and public policy.
The National Institutes of Health are conducting a $30 million research project to better assess the effects of BPA. The FDA expects to have the results of these studies by 2012.
Massachusetts is the eighth state to ban the substance in children’s plastic products. For environmentalists, these policy measures are not adequate to address the growing concerns over BPA, although public health officials say that the current research is only persuasive enough to justify the current level of regulation.
Government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services remain undecided about the true health effects of BPA consumption. Currently, the FDA does not ban the substance. Earlier scientific tests found it to be safe.
The integrity of these earlier studies has, however, come under question by both scientists and activists. Some scientists found that four of the industry-funded studies that found BPA to be safe were greatly flawed.
More recent studies performed by the National Institute of Health’s Toxicology Program have raised concerns over the effect of BPA “on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures.”
Further possible health effects of BPA consumption include breast and prostate cancer, regional decline in sperm counts, abnormal penile/urethra development in males, early sexual maturation in females, increasing neurobehavioral problems, increasing prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, and immune system effects, according to Environment and Human Health, Inc., a nonprofit organization that conducts research on health and public policy.
The National Institutes of Health are conducting a $30 million research project to better assess the effects of BPA. The FDA expects to have the results of these studies by 2012.
Massachusetts is the eighth state to ban the substance in children’s plastic products. For environmentalists, these policy measures are not adequate to address the growing concerns over BPA, although public health officials say that the current research is only persuasive enough to justify the current level of regulation.
