Beyond Baby Bottles: Are Common Plastics Safe?

Scientists, industry groups and government disagree

By:
Charles Noe

Reviewed By:
Robert Cooper, M.D., FACE

Is your water bottle a health hazard? How about your baby's teething ring and other regular household plastics? Industry groups say no. Government agencies are sending mixed messages. Meanwhile, some scientists say yes—and a number of consumers and businesses are dumping these products as a result.

A host of recent studies have found associations between the chemicals found in countless widely used plastics and certain disorders and diseases, such as birth defects, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Here's a look at the products and the potential health issues.

The plastics and the products

There are many types of plastics made from combinations of various chemicals. Recent medical studies have focused on two of these chemicals:

• Bisphenol A (BPA). This compound has been used for half a century in hard polycarbonate plastics and in epoxy resins. BPA is found in the lining of food and beverage cans and in plastic goods like baby bottles, water bottles, food containers, eyeglasses, bike helmets, DVDs, electronics and car parts.
  
  
• Orthophthalates. Better known as phthalates (pronounced tha-lates), this group of chemicals is used to soften vinyl and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Phthalates are found in such products as soaps, shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, water pipes, shower curtains, toys, electrical wires, medical tubing and vinyl flooring.
  
  

Another place these chemicals can now be found: in human blood and urine. Critics say they can break down and leach out of products, especially when heated. We're exposed to them not just through plastics but also through the food we eat and even the air we breathe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says.

Some researchers describe BPA and phthalates as environmental estrogens because they may act like female hormones. They are also sometimes called endocrine disruptors because of their effect on the endocrine system, which regulates reproduction and growth.

"Some Concern"

The plastics and chemical industries say that BPA and phthalates have a proven record of safety. Many large-scale reviews and studies have not shown them to be a health hazard.

The FDA says it "does not have compelling evidence" of health risks. But elsewhere in the federal government, , more alarming messages are conveyed: The National Toxicology Program reported in 2008 that exposure to BPA posed certain risks to human development and reproduction.

"We express some concern that current estimated exposures of BPA to fetuses, infants and children could cause neural and behavioral effects, effects on the prostate and mammary gland and an earlier age at which females attain puberty," testified John Bucher, associate director of the National Toxicology Program, at a Congressional hearing in June 2008. "We express negligible concern or minimal concern that current exposures to BPA could cause adverse health effects in other segments of the population."

Also testifying at that hearing, FDA official Norris Alderson said, "The current level of exposure to adults and children is safe."

Another federal agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, has published dozens of studies suggesting associations between phthalates or BPA and health concerns including:

• Breast, ovarian, testicular and prostate cancer
• Obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes
• Allergies and asthma
• Early puberty in girls
• Decreased ovarian function in women
• Damage to DNA in sperm
• Potential disruption of boys' genital development
• Decreased levels of sex hormones in boys and men

Despite this list, there's still no proof that these chemicals cause disease. Most of the studies that identified these associations were performed on laboratory animals, and they may or may not translate to humans. Additional research is under way. In the meantime, some consumers, agencies and businesses are taking precautionary actions, and a growing number of states and local governments—including the states of Minnesota and Connecticut, the city of Chicago, and Suffolk County in New York—have banned the sale of baby bottles, cups and other children's products containing BPA. Similar measures have been proposed in Congress and dozens of other state and local governments..

Should you join them? With a lack of consensus from the experts, you need to decide for yourself whether it makes sense to avoid these products when possible. Get some tips on reducing your exposure to plastics.