Bisphenol A is released from polycarbonate drinking bottles and mimics the neurotoxic actions of estrogen in developing cerebellar neurons

Click title link for full pdf

Le HH, Carlson EM, Chua JP, Belcher SM.
Toxicol Lett. 2008 Jan 30;176(2):149-56.

The impact of endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) exposure on human
health is receiving increasingly focused attention. The prototypical EDC
bisphenol A (BPA) is an estrogenic high-production chemical used
primarily as a monomer for the production of polycarbonate and epoxy
resins. It is now well established that there is ubiquitous human
exposure to BPA. In the general population, exposure to BPA occurs
mainly by consumption of contaminated foods and beverages that have
contacted epoxy resins or polycarbonate plastics. To test the hypothesis
that bioactive BPA was released from polycarbonate bottles used for
consumption of water and other beverages, we evaluated whether BPA
migrated into water stored in new or used high-quality polycarbonate
bottles used by consumers. Using a sensitive and quantitative
competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, BPA was found to migrate
from polycarbonate water bottles at rates ranging from 0.20 ng/h to 0.79
ng/h. At room temperature the migration of BPA was independent of
whether or not the bottle had been previously used. Exposure to boiling
water (100 degrees C) increased the rate of BPA migration by up to
55-fold. The estrogenic bioactivity of the BPA-like immunoreactivity
released into the water samples was confirmed using an in vitro assay of
rapid estrogen signaling and neurotoxicity in developing cerebellar
neurons. The amounts of BPA found to migrate from polycarbonate drinking
bottles should be considered as a contributing source to the total
"EDC-burden" to which some individuals are exposed.