Study Links Safe Levels of BPA to Reproductive Health Issues
A recent study has reportedly claimed that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) at levels currently considered safe for humans can allegedly cause “significant reproductive health effects” in rats. Heather B. Adewale, et al., “Neonatal bisphenol-A exposure alters rat reproductive development and ovarian morphology without impairing activation of gonadotropin releasing hormone neurons,” Biology of Reproduction, June 17, 2009. Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and North Carolina State University reported that female rats experienced early onset puberty when given a BPA dose of 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight (µg/kg) during the first four days of life, while those exposed to BPA levels of 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg) “developed significant ovarian malformations and premature loss of their estrus cycle.”
According to the lead researcher, “The 50 mg/kg level is important because it is equivalent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s [EPA’s] ‘Lowest Observable Adverse Effect Level’ for BPA. So, by definition, we should not have seen significant effects at or below this level, but we did.” The study authors have also noted that 50 µg/kg is EPA’s listed reference dose for BPA, “meaning it is the level of BPA that EPA says a person can be exposed to on a daily basis without expecting any adverse effects after a lifetime of exposure.” See NC State University Press Release, June 17, 2009; FoodProductionDaily.com, June 19, 2009.
