In an article published on September 13, 2018, by the magazine The Scientist, editor Kerry Grens informed about a new study on the health effects of replacement chemicals for bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7). The study was published on the same day in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology and conducted by Tegan S. Horan and colleagues from Washington State University and the University of California, San Francisco, both U.S..
The researchers exposed pregnant mice to daily oral doses of 20 ng/g body weight of BPA, its common substitutes bisphenol S (BPS, CAS 80-09-1) and diphenyl sulfone (CAS 127-63-9), or a placebo. They found that exposure to BPA and BPS led to a significant increase in chromosomal abnormalities in the female fetuses. Horan and colleagues also exposed male baby mice to oral doses of 20 ng/g of BPA, BPS, diphenyl sulfone, two further common BPA replacements bisphenol F (BPF, CAS 620-92-8) and (BPAF, CAS 1478-61-1), or a placebo. All bisphenols lead to significant chromosomal abnormalities in the mice’s sperm that continued to persist in subsequent generations.
“Although ‘BPA free’ is a valuable marketing tool, and most consumers interpret this label as an indication of a safer product, our findings add to growing evidence . . . that replacement bisphenols have the potential to induce adverse effects similar to those reported for BPA,” the researchers concluded.
Read more
Kerry Grens (September 13, 2018). “BPA and its replacements have same effects on mice.” The Scientist
Robert F. Service (September 13, 2018). “BPA substitutes may be just as bad as the popular consumer plastic.” Science
Maya Wei-Haas (September 13, 2018). “Why ‘BPA free’ may not mean a plastic product is safe.” National Geographic
Food Processing Australia (September 19, 2018). “Scientists warn BPA substitutes are not safe.”
Reference
Horan, T. S., et al. (2018). “Replacement bisphenols adversely affect mouse gametogenesis with consequences for subsequent generations.” Current Biology (published online September 13, 2018).
