A recent study has allegedly linked occupational exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) with high rates of impotence and sexual dysfunction among Chinese men. D. Li, et al., “Occupational Exposure to Bisphenol-A (BPA) and the Risk of Self-Reported Male Sexual Dysfunction,” Human Reproduction, 2009. U.S. and Chinese researchers apparently examined 634 male workers exposed to BPA levels approximately 50 times higher than those encountered by the average American. According to the study, “compared with the unexposed workers, BPA-exposed workers reported significantly higher frequencies of reduced sexual function within 1 year of employment in the BPA-exposed factories.” In addition, the authors observed a “dose-response relationship… with an increasing level of cumulative BPA exposure associated with a higher risk of sexual dysfunction.” The researchers have since defended their results against feedback questioning the study’s relevance to the typical consumer. “Critics dismissed all the animal studies, saying ‘Show us the human studies,” stated one…
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A multidistrict litigation (MDL) court in western Missouri has issued orders disposing of a number of motions in the dozens of cases transferred to it in litigation involving claims of fraud against companies that make baby bottles and sippy cups, reusable drink containers, and baby formula sold in metal cans lined with a substance containing bisphenol A (BPA). In re: Bisphenol-A (BPA) Polycarbonate Plastic Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1967 (W.D. Mo., orders entered November 9, 2009). The court has dismissed breach of express warranty claims and claims that depend on misrepresentations (as opposed to omissions) for insufficient pleading under Ashcroft v. Iqbal; and breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. Remaining are claims for fraudulent omissions, violation of state consumer protection statutes, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and unjust enrichment. The court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss on the ground of primary jurisdiction, which applies when a…
Consumers Union (CU) has issued the results of bisphenol A (BPA) testing on 19 name-brand canned foods such as soups, juice, tuna, green beans, and infant formula. According to a December 2009 Consumer Reports article titled “Concern Over Canned Foods,” the tests revealed that both organic and conventional foods contained detectable BPA levels, including “some products in cans that were labeled ‘BPA-free.’” The average amount of BPA purportedly “varied widely,” ranging from trace amounts to 32 parts per billion (ppb), for both epoxy-lined metal cans and alternative packaging. “Nevertheless, our findings are notable because they indicate the extent of potential exposure,” concludes the article. “Consumers eating just one serving of the canned vegetable soup we tested would get about double what the FDA now considers typical average dietary daily exposure.” While noting that these results “convey a snapshot of the marketplace and do not provide a general conclusion about the…
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has published a survey and health assessment examining the exposure of 2-year-olds to chemical substances in consumer products. The report apparently focused on endocrine disruptors, including phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), found not only in general consumer products but specifically in food products and food contact materials. The study apparently concluded that (i) “a few exposures to a high content of an endocrine disruptor, such as that of DBP [bibutyl phthalate] in rubber clogs, may result in a critical risk for the 2 year-old”; (ii) “the amounts that 2 year-olds absorb, in particular from the phthalate DBP (mostly from foods) and dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (mostly from foods, and partly from indoor air and dust), constitute a risk for anti-androgen disruptions to the endocrine system”; and (iii) “the amounts that 2 year-olds absorb from the parabens propylparaben and butylparaben, in particular, can constitute a risk…
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has announced that it will spend $30 million on two-year research grants targeting the potential health risks of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure. The ubiquitous chemical is used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that may leach into foods and beverages from product packaging. “We know that many people are concerned about bisphenol A, and we want to support the best science we can to provide the answers,” NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum was quoted as saying. NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program identified BPA as a priority after concluding in 2008 that evidence from animal studies showed that BPA “may be causing adverse effects.” Researchers will reportedly focus on low-dose BPA exposure and compile data on “a number of health effects including behavior, obesity, diabetes, reproductive disorders, development of prostate, breast and uterine cancer, asthma, cardiovascular diseases and transgenerational or epigenetic effects.”…
Led by a University of Massachusetts biology professor, more than 30 scientists have reportedly written to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to express concern about the agency’s plans to further study the health effects of bisphenol A (BPA), a plasticizer ubiquitous to food packaging that has apparently been subject to more than 900 studies. According to the researchers, many of whom have participated on government BPA health-effects panels, “FDA’s plans to spend significant time and money on a very well researched chemical are disturbing.” The agency has indicated that it will issue a new opinion on the chemical’s safety by November 30, 2009, and the scientists note that FDA plans to spend $7 million on new BPA research in the interim. Not only are they concerned about the quality of the planned research, which calls for BPA to be tested on a rat strain insensitive to BPA at low levels,…
A new study claims that prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) may make girls more aggressive and exhibit hyperactive behavior. Joe M. Braun, et al., “Prenatal Bisphenol A Exposure and Early Childhood Behavior,” Environmental Health Perspectives (October 2009). Researchers at the University of North Carolina and British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University conducted the study, purportedly believed to be the first to link prenatal BPA exposure to behavioral problems in children, by measuring BPA levels in urine samples of 249 pregnant women in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 16 and 26 weeks of pregnancy, and again at birth. The children were assessed for behavioral problems when they reached age 2 through questionnaires completed by their parents. Researchers claim BPA exposure between 13 and 16 weeks of pregnancy was most strongly associated with behavioral problems in girls, although boys were apparently also affected. “The girls showed a definite difference in temperaments,” said one of the…
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson has urged Congress to pass sweeping legislative reform of the country’s chemical management law and announced plans to review the controversial food-packaging chemical bisphenol A and the perfluorinated chemicals used in nonstick cookware. In a September 29, 2009, speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Jackson claimed that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has “fallen behind the industry it’s supposed to regulate. It’s been proven an inadequate tool for providing the protection against chemical risks that the public rightfully expects,” she said, declaring that as “more and more chemicals are found in our bodies and the environment, the public is understandably anxious and confused.” Legislation to strengthen TSCA is expected to be introduced soon. The Obama administration has issued “Essential Principles for Reform of Chemicals Management Legislation,” to aid Congress during the legislative process. The six principles would give EPA the…
California legislators have reportedly rejected a bill (S.B. 797) that would have required manufacturers to remove by 2011 the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers intended for children ages 3 and younger. Unable to garner the 41 votes needed to pass in the Assembly, the bill will reportedly come under reconsideration in 2010. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Fran Pavley, (D-Agoura Hills), has reportedly accused the chemical industry of an “expensive and shamefully deceptive lobbying campaign,” alleging that some senators were told that food production plants in their district would close if the bill was passed. “It’s a shame that we have failed to protect our most vulnerable citizens,” Pavley said. Despite claims purportedly linking BPA to early onset puberty, obesity, birth defects, and breast cancer, the chemical industry has repeatedly pointed to a global consensus among food safety bodies that the substance is safe for use in…
The cover story from the latest Chemical & Engineering News details the challenges faced by food and drug makers to keep chemical leaching from product packaging and processing to a minimum. According to the article, even the most inert substances used in food packaging, such as glass, can leach chemicals because they are typically capped with metal, rubber or plastic. For example, carbon black and nitrosamines, both carcinogens, have been used to process rubber and have been found leaching from asthma inhalers and baby-bottle nipples. Bisphenol A and the chemicals in the inks used on labels are also discussed; apparently, even plastic barriers cannot stop ink migration. The article notes, “Speak with anyone who produces, studies, or regulates packaging, and you will hear this point repeated: It is not a question of whether packaging components will leach into a product, it’s a question of how much.” Complicating the issue are…
