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Statement on the Hunt Study: Human Health Link Not Established. April 2, 2003 A study by Dr. Patricia Hunt and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University (Hunt Study) reported effects on mice from exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA). Bisphenol A is a building block of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics. Polycarbonate is used in a wide variety of consumer products such as safety equipment, CDs, food and beverage containers and in automobiles, which take advantage of its lightweight, shatter-resistant characteristics. Epoxy resins are used as durable and inert coatings in a wide range of applications. Unfortunately, many of the media stories about the Hunt Study contain speculation on health effects that goes far beyond the actual findings of the study. Consumers deserve information that separates the facts from unproven speculation. Contrary to what many media stories have reported about the Hunt Study, the weight of scientific evidence shows there is not a basis for health concerns from exposure to BPA. Consumers can have confidence that food and beverage containers made of epoxy and polycarbonate plastics are safe for their intended uses. The Hunt Study reports that exposure to BPA caused chromosomal abnormalities in the eggs of female mice in the course of laboratory experiments. No health effects, including reproductive and offspring effects, were examined in the Hunt Study, and the authors of the study stated that the relevance of their results to human health has not been established. In contrast, earlier studies on BPA specifically looked for reproductive and developmental effects, including at exposure levels examined in the Hunt Study. These studies fully support the conclusion that BPA does not cause reproductive or developmental effects at any environmentally relevant dose. Included in this earlier research are a study conducted by the Research Triangle Institute that examined three offspring generations of laboratory animals and a study commissioned by the Japanese National Institute of Health Sciences that examined two offspring generations. These two studies, along with a large body of supporting research, provide strong assurance that there is not a basis for health concerns from exposure to BPA through the intended uses of polycarbonate or epoxy products. BPA has been safely used for over 40 years and is one of the most extensively studied substances. The use of epoxy and polycarbonate plastics continues to be authorized for food contact use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the Japanese Ministry for Health, Labor and Welfare and other regulatory authorities worldwide. |
| UPDATE | 05.03 |
| AUTHOR | American Plastics Council |
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