There are about 6.6 billion pounds of bisphenol produced worldwide each year. Last month The FDA issued a report saying the trace amounts of BPA are not dangerous.
But two weeks ago the government's National Toxicology Program _ which is made up of scientists from several agencies _ concluded bisphenol poses "some risk" to infants and children.
Now we have this;
Bisphenol A, the highly controversial chemical found in food containers and other household products, is linked with heart disease and type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.
In a study of nearly 1,500 people, researchers in the United Kingdom found that subjects who were diagnosed with heart disease or diabetes had higher concentrations of BPA in their urine.
"These findings add to the evidence suggesting adverse effects of low-dose BPA in animals. Independent replication and follow-up studies are needed to confirm these findings and to provide evidence on whether the associations are causal," the authors conclude.
Back in April after reports that the Canadian government would declare the chemical bisphenol-a, or BPA, toxic, Nalgene decided to stop using this chemical in question.
"Based on all available scientific evidence, we continue to believe that Nalgene products containing BPA are safe for their intended use," Steven Silverman, the general manager of the Nalgene unit, said in a statement. "However, our customers indicated they preferred BPA-free alternatives, and we acted in response to those concerns."
From two weeks ago when the FDA claimed this chemical was safe.
Based on a review of animal studies, the government working group said bisphenol could cause changes in behavior and the brain, and that it might reduce survival and birth weight in fetuses.
About 93 percent of Americans have traces of bisphenol in their urine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the F.D.A.’s report concluded that those levels were thousands of times below what would actually be dangerous to adults or children.
And now BPA is linked to heart disease, diabetes and liver problems.
In the first large-scale study in humans of a chemical ubiquitous in the lives of Americans, a team of researchers reported that exposure to bisphenol A was associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities in adults.
Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is used extensively in epoxy resins lining food and beverage containers and in polycarbonate plastics used to make countless consumer products including baby bottles and sippy cups. The chemical also has been found in drinking water, dental sealants and even household dust.
Researchers said the study, in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, offers the first scientific evidence that adults with higher levels of BPA in their bodies were more likely to develop such diseases. It was released early to coincide with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientific advisory hearing Tuesday on the use of BPA in products that make contact with food.
None of this is conclusive.
The study authors acknowledge that it's impossible to rule out that people who already have heart disease or diabetes are somehow more vulnerable to having BPA show up in their urine.
"There's a small possibility that there's some other factor that's explaining this and it's not due to BPA itself. We've done everything we can think of to exclude that possibility, but it would be nice to get more direct evidence," Melzer said.
And the plastic lobby is right on top of things.
The American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group, said the study is flawed, has substantial limitations and proves nothing.
"As the authors themselves note, they do not conclude that the presence of BPA is causing adverse health effects - they merely noted a statistical association," the group said in a statement.
But while the FDA decides that this may warrant more study, here's another reason to stop killing the planet, those plastic bottles may just be killing you and your children.
In Canada, the government has proposed banning the sale of baby bottles with BPA as a precaution. Would this FDA ever stand up to Dow Chemical?
Update: NBC Nightly News covered the story and offers a web only link to help sort out the controversy. There are links to two other MSNBC stories, Common plastics chemical linked to heart problems and Baby bottle chemical draws mixed messages from U.S. One very useful piece of information is the seven inside a triangle that can be found on plastic bottles and containers that contain BPA.