Consumer Alert: Plastics in Baby Bottles May Pose Health Risk

The reason: a growing number of studies show that exposure to low levels of BPA during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood may affect normal development and "sensitivity to onset of disease later in life, most particularly the potential for mammary and prostate cancer," says NTP associate director John Bucher, a toxicologist. "Exposure to BPA in utero tends to cause the differences between males and females you typically see to diminish." BPA has been used in the U.S. and worldwide since the 1950s as an essential building block of the polycarbonate plastic in water bottles as well as in epoxy resins used to line cans to prevent corrosion and food contamination; more than 2.3 billion pounds (one billion kilograms) of BPA are manufactured annually in the U.S. and more than three million metric tons of it are used worldwide in a year. The NTP found that, contrary to manufacturers' previous claims, humans are exposed to significant levels of BPA. Hentges admits that "there are several studies where there's limited evidence [of harm in animals]," but adds that he doesn't believe "there's a scientific basis to take action." Canadian officials say that more studies will be done, including monitoring some 5,000 pregnant women and their babies for BPA exposure levels. In the U.S. industry, academics and government officials also plan to conduct more research, including analyses of how BPA interacts with the human body and its effects on development in pregnant macaques.