Hot liquids release potentially harmful chemicals in polycarbonate plast...( CINCINNATIWhen it comes to Bisphenol...),Health

CINCINNATIWhen it comes to Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure from polycarbonate plastic bottles, its not whether the container is new or old but the liquids temperature that has the most impact on how much BPA is released, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists.

Scott Belcher, PhD, and his team found when the same new and used polycarbonate drinking bottles were exposed to boiling hot water, BPA, an environmental estrogen, was released 55 times more rapidly than before exposure to hot water.

Previous studies have shown that if you repeatedly scrub, dish-wash and boil polycarbonate baby bottles, they release BPA. That tells us that BPA can migrate from various polycarbonate plastics, explains Belcher, UC associate professor of pharmacology and cell biophysics and corresponding study author. But we wanted to know if normal use caused increased release from something that we all use, and to identify what was the most important factor that impacts release.

Inspired by questions from the climbing community, we went directly to tests based on how consumers use these plastic water bottles and showed that the only big difference in exposure levels revolved around liquid temperature: Bottles used for up to nine years released the same amount of BPA as new bottles.

The UC team reports its findings in the Jan. 30, 2008 issue of the journal Toxicology Letters.

BPA is one of many man-made chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors, which alter the function of the endocrine system by mimicking the role of the bodys natural hormones. Hormones are secreted through endocrine glands and serve different functions throughout the body.

The chemicalwhich is widely used in products such as reusable water bottles, food can linings, water pipes and dental sealantshas been shown to affect reproduction and brain development in animal studies.

There is a large body of scientific evidence demonstrating the harm
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