No verdict yet on safety of chemical in plastics

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tina Hesman Saey
Published March 8, 2007

An independent panel of scientists evaluating the safety of a chemical found in plastics failed to reach a conclusion Wednesday. The 15-member panel was convened in Alexandria, Va., by the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, part of the National Toxicology Program. Its mission was to evaluate more than 500 scientific studies on bisphenol A and decide whether the chemical is safe for human consumption. The chemical is found in many hard plastics and is used in resins that line food and beverage cans. It acts like estrogen, and some people are concerned that it could damage human health. The panel will reconvene later to issue its conclusions, said Allen Dearry, interim associate director for the National Toxicology Program. "It's a very complex and time-consuming enterprise, and two and a half days was not enough time," he said. On Monday, the National Toxicology Program removed Sciences International, a consulting firm, from the meeting because of questions of conflicts of interest. Sciences International has ties to companies that manufacture bisphenol A and to the tobacco industry. The firm provides "administrative and logistical support" for the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction and prepared the summary of scientific literature the panel is using to evaluate bisphenol A, Dearry said. The action was taken to "preserve the integrity" and "restore public confidence" in the proceedings, Dearry told reporters in a telephone press conference after the meeting. A University of Missouri-Columbia scientist, Frederick vom Saal, was among those who spoke to the panel.