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<TITLE>Plastics report reviewed - National Toxicology Program to scrutinize oft-criticized findings that chemical (bisphenol A) poses little risk</TITLE>
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<P><A HREF="http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=705538"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=705538</FONT></U></A>
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<P><B><FONT SIZE=5 FACE="Times New Roman">Plastics report reviewed </FONT></B>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=4 FACE="Times New Roman">Agency to scrutinize oft-criticized findings that chemical poses little risk</FONT></B>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">By MEG KISSINGER, CARY SPIVAK and SUSANNE RUST<BR>
</FONT></B><A HREF="mailto:mkissinger@journalsentinel.com"><B><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">mkissinger@journalsentinel.com</FONT></U></B></A><B></B>
<BR><B><I><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Posted: Jan. 9, 2008</FONT></I></B>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">A controversial report on chemicals found in baby bottles and hundreds of other household products is under intense review by the National Toxicology Program after the agency was swamped with complaints that the authors were unduly influenced by the chemical industry. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">John Bucher, head of the toxicology program, said Wednesday that the agency is giving unprecedented scrutiny to the work of a panel studying the effects of bisphenol A, a chemical used as a hardening agent for plastic. The panel had downplayed the risks of bisphenol A, finding some concern for fetuses and small children but that adults had almost nothing to worry about. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The chemical, commonly used as dental sealants, eyeglasses, CDs, DVDs and as lining in aluminum cans, was found in the urine of 93% of Americans tested. More than 6 billion pounds are produced each year in the United States. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The Journal Sentinel reported in December that the study, by a panel of 12 scientists appointed by the National Institute of Environment Sciences, gave more weight to industry-funded studies and more leeway to industry-funded researchers. The newspaper found that the panel missed dozens of studies publicly available that the newspaper found online using a medical research Internet search engine. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Scientists, many of whom have spent years studying bisphenol A and have found it to be harmful, also criticized the panel's report. These scientists have found that bisphenol A can cause breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm counts, miscarriage and a host of other reproductive failures in laboratory animals. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">"In this case, there's been so much criticism raised," Bucher said.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The Journal Sentinel found that studies paid for by the chemical industry were much less likely to find damaging effects or disease. The newspaper's stories were widely circulated in the scientific community. Bucher said the newspaper's findings will be considered in the review, including criticism that the panel allowed a study to be translated by the American Plastics Council.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Bucher said the review would consider why the panel had rejected academic studies that found harm when looking at the effects of low doses of bisphenol A. The panel did not accept any studies that found an effect at low doses in its review of 742 studies. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Once the panel weeded out studies it believed had been done poorly, no studies remained that showed effects from low doses, panel chairman Robert Chapin said in an earlier interview.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">"There's a lot of bad science out there," he said at the time.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Chapin could not be reached for comment Wednesday.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">A growing number of scientists have found that bisphenol A causes harm to animals in low doses. And the National Academy of Science and the toxicology program itself have called for a radical reform in the way that government screens chemicals such as bisphenol A. But, so far, the government hasn't budged from its original formula. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Michael Shelby, director of the government agency that selected the panel to evaluate bisphenol A, said he welcomed the review.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">"We want to get it right," he said. "That's the way science works is through scrutiny and through peer review." Shelby said he was not surprised at the extraordinary amount of criticism aimed at the report.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">"It's a hot topic, and there's a considerable amount of literature," he said. </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The federal government is soliciting public comment on the panel report until Jan. 25. After that, agency staff will review comments, criticism and any new research on bisphenol A. Then, the toxicology program will issue a report that will be subject to another round of public comment, and, ultimately, a scientific review in June. </FONT></P>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Deborah L. DeBiasi</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Email: dldebiasi@deq.virginia.gov</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">WEB site address: </FONT><A HREF="file://www.deq.virginia.gov"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">www.deq.virginia.gov</FONT></U></A>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Office of Water Permit Programs</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218</FONT><B></B><B><I> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">(NEW!)</FONT></I></B>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">PH: 804-698-4028</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">FAX: 804-698-4032</FONT>
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