Plastic exposure much higher than previously thought

A new study indicates that human exposure to the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is much higher than predicted.

The study has found that women, female monkeys and female mice have major similarities when it comes to how BPA is metabolised.

Researchers have now renewed their call for governmental regulation when it comes to the oestrogen-like chemical, BPA, found in many everyday products.

A team from the University of Missouri in collaboration with scientists at the University of California, Davis, and Washington State University tied rodent data on the health effects of BPA to predictions of human health effects from BPA with the use of everyday household products.

"This study provides convincing evidence that BPA is dangerous to our health at current levels of human exposure," said Frederick vom  Saal of the University of Missouri.

"The new results clearly demonstrate that rodent data on the health effects of BPA are relevant to predictions regarding the health effects of human exposure to BPA. Further evidence of human harm should not be required for regulatory action to reduce human exposure to BPA," Vom Saal added.

The findings in the current study have suggested that human exposure to BPA is much higher than some prior estimates and is likely to be from many still unknown sources, indicating the need for governmental agencies to require the chemical industry to identify all products that contain BPA.

"For years, BPA manufacturers have argued that BPA is safe and have denied the validity of more than 200 studies that showed adverse health effects in animals due to exposure to very low doses of BPA," said Julia Taylor, lead author.

"We know that BPA leaches out of products that contain it, and that it acts like oestrogen in the body," she added.

The findings were published online in the NIH journal Environmental Health Perspectives.