Some moms ditch plastic cups: Safety of additive is topic of debate

Nov 16, 2008 (The News & Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- NHPR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Conflicting reports over the safety of the plastic additive bisphenol A have forced parents to decide for themselves whether to keep using plastic baby bottles and cups made with the widely used compound.

Some, like Keira McNeill, a Knightdale mother of two, decided to stop waiting for the government to settle the safety issues. McNeill opted to replace her children's baby bottles and cups to protect them from any potential harm. Others, like Grace Danuck of Apex, still take comfort in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's safety assessment and are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Bisphenol A, also called BPA, is used in the plastic linings of food and soda cans to prevent corrosion. It is also used in hard clear polycarbonate plastics, such as for baby bottles and water bottles.

More than 90 percent of Americans have bisphenol A in their bodies, from consuming food and beverages stored in containers made with BPA.

The FDA insists that the chemical compound is safe at low doses. But an independent science panel, convened by the FDA and including researchers from the Triangle, found in October that the FDA's safety assessment was flawed.

The advisory panel concluded the FDA should have considered a wider range of studies beyond the two industry-funded ones that found the product safe. The FDA is expected to respond to the recommendation by February.

Based on animal research, some researchers have raised questions about the chemical's effect on reproductive systems in newborns and fetuses.

In October, Canada became the first country to add bisphenol A to its list of toxic substances, because of concern that infants might be ingesting too much of the chemical, which mimics the hormone estrogen. Canada's health agency has said it would end the sale of baby bottles containing BPA and support infant formula makers in switching to different packaging. BPA leaches from plastics.

McNeill said questions raised by researchers about BPA's potential harm convinced her that her family should avoid it.

"When Canada banned it, that spoke volumes to me," said McNeill, a hospital surgical technician. "That same weekend, I went through and threw out a lot of things, all my kids' sippy cups and all the plastic dishes. To me, it should not be in things we are consuming."

But not everyone agrees. Grace Danuck said the FDA's assessment gives her a level of comfort.

"With medical science, we know so much now that we almost know too much," Danuck said. "Coffee is bad for you, then it's good for you. We can nit-pick just about anything that has less than healthy ingredients in it."

Danuck, who sells Tupperware products, said that at every housewares party, someone asks, "Is this a safe plastic?" So she did some reading to satisfy herself.

"The main thing I say to people is not everything goes in the microwave," Danuck said. "We have microwave-safe products, and within that group, some of them are polycarbonate and some are not. I feel safe with it."

The FDA has acknowledged that more research is needed on bisphenol A in light of uncertainties underscored by the advisory panel's review. The panel's report was endorsed by the FDA's science advisory board Oct. 31.

John Vandenberg, associate director for health at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Assessment in Research Triangle Park, served on the review panel because of his expertise in risk assessment of chemicals found in the environment.

Vandenberg said there are a lot of uncertainties about the chemical and some hints of potential concerns. He said the FDA had not considered more narrowly focused studies that also had merit.

Vandenberg said the concern is with infants, because their bodies don't flush chemicals.

"As you age, you develop ability to metabolize or excrete chemicals differently than as newborns," he said. "Newborns don't have the same ability to metabolize."

Animal effects studied

Panel member Philip J. Bushnell, a neurotoxicologist in the EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory in RTP, said some studies of bisphenol A involving animals had shown behavioral changes, suggesting gender-bending effects.

"When you have a chemical with estrogenic potency, you can change the way the fetus develops," Bushnell said. "How this translates into humans is a very big question. There is a lot more work that needs to be done to sort that out."

Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the FDA, said the panel's report raises important questions regarding the FDA's draft safety assessment and that the agency would respond by February.

The "FDA is already moving forward with planned research to address the potential low-dose effects of bisphenol A, and we will carefully evaluate the findings of these studies," Herndon said.

Kimberly Ballard of Raleigh, who has two young sons, decided to get rid of most of the plastic cups her children used.

"I would like to think our government would have our best interest at heart and our children's best interest," Ballard said. "If something comes up that could be harmful, I'd like to hear the alarms go off and someone say this is something possibly dangerous for your child."

wade.rawlins@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4528

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