The first large-scale human study of a chemical used to make plastic baby bottles, aluminum can linings and myriad other common products found double the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver problems in people with the highest concentrations in their urine, British researchers reported Tuesday.
The findings confirm earlier results obtained in animals, increasing pressure on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to limit use of the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA.
The compound is the primary ingredient of polycarbonate plastics, which are found in a wide variety of modern goods, including DVDs, reusable food storage containers, drinking bottles and eyeglass lenses.
There have been growing concerns about its safety as studies in rodents have linked it to diabetes, brain damage, developmental abnormalities, precancerous changes in the prostate and breast, and a variety of other health problems.
About 7 billion pounds of the chemical are produced worldwide each year, and studies by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that 93% of Americans have detectable levels in their urine.
The new findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., coinciding with an FDA hearing Tuesday in Washington on BPA.
"This is a human study that really calls into question FDA's assertion that BPA is safe," said Dr. Anila Jacob of the activist Environmental Working Group.
An FDA representative, however, defended the agency's actions at the hearing.
"A margin of safety exists that is adequate to protect consumers, including infants and children, at the current levels of exposure," said Laura Tarantino, a senior FDA scientist.
But many experts think the writing is on the wall for the chemical.
A draft report issued this year by the government's National Toxicology Program, which has no regulatory authority, concluded that there was "some concern" that the chemical posed a risk to fetuses, babies and children.
Health Canada, that country's national public health agency, also this year released a report calling BPA "a potentially harmful chemical" -- becoming the first regulatory body in the world to do so.
Baby bottle manufacturers are already looking for replacements for the chemical. And Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys R Us Inc. have announced plans to shift away from products containing BPA.
