Chemical poses risk to babies, say scientists

Scientists in the US found that female rhesus monkeys exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) suffered reproductive abnormalities, and the effects also had an impact on their unborn daughters whose ability to ovulate was likely to be impaired.

Lead scientist Dr Patricia Hunt, from Washington State University, said: “The concern is exposure to this chemical we’re all exposed to could increase the risk of miscarriages and the risk of babies born with birth defects like Down Syndrome.

“The really stunning thing about the effect is we’re dosing grandma, it’s crossing the placenta and hitting her developing foetus and if that foetus is a female, it’s changing the likelihood that that female is going to ovulate normal eggs. It’s a three-for-one hit.”

BPA is used in food packaging, plastic bottles and the lining of drinks cans, and is an “endocrine disrupter” that can disturb hormonal systems. Although only very low levels enter the body, some experts believe constant exposure may be harmful. Last year it was banned from babies’ bottles and drinks containers in EU countries including the UK, and the US followed suit earlier this year.

The latest research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uncovered changes similar to those previously reported in studies of mice.

However Prof Richard Sharpe, from the Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, argued: “The levels of exposure used by the authors in the study are far in excess of human exposure, so raise minimal health concerns for pregnant women and their babies.”