BPA Levels Found in Humans Unlikely to Pose Health Risk, Study Says

A new U.S. analysis suggests that concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) in the blood of the general public are significantly lower than levels shown to cause toxicity or mimic estrogen in animal studies. In an analysis of 150 BPA exposure studies — covering more than 30,000 individuals in 19 countries — toxicologist Justin Teeguarden of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that BPA levels were consistently lower than levels believed to cause biological effects. According to the study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, these findings suggest that animal studies may not be a good indicator of the human health effects of BPA, a synthetic chemical found in thousands of everyday products, from plastic bottles to cash register receipts. “At these exposure levels, exposure to BPA can’t be compared to giving a baby the massive dose of estrogens found in a birth control pill, a comparison made by others,” Teeguarden said.