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*The recent decision by Canada to ban the importation, sale and advertising of polycarbonate baby bottles has caused consumers to grow increasingly concerned with using plastic in general. *

The prime suspect is a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA), which is a key building block of polycarbonate plastic. The reason why it is causing all the controversy is because it mimics the hormone estrogen. As a consequence BPA has been linked to breast cancer, genital abnormality, changes to sexual orientation and hyperactivity among others.

BPA is not easy to get rid of as it is used to make a multitude of everyday products including baby and water bottles, sports equipment, medical devices, CDs, and household electronics. It is also present in epoxy resins used inside some beverage and food cans.

There have been many studies trying to determine whether or not BPA is safe and most of those have concluded that the chemical is not a health risks to adults. However, scientists prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to newborns and infants. Research have shown that although adults are exposed to safe levels of BPA, it is possible that the effect of the chemical on babies can have complex and far-reaching consequences for their development. * Testing the waters*

Some 5 gallon bottles used in water coolers that carry the #7 recycling classification are made from polycarbonate contain Bisphenol A. This plastic has been tested extensively by numerous government and scientific organizations around the world including the US CDC, US FDA, European Union and the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. All are unanimous in support of the safety of polycarbonate.

In a US Food and Drug Administration study (1997), water from several 5 gallon (19 litre) polycarbonate bottles which carried the #7 classification from a bottled water supplier were analysed with a detection limit of 0.05 parts per billion. In water that had been stored in the bottles for up to 39 weeks, BPA was found only at very low levels ranging from 0.1 to 4.7 parts per billion.

To understand what this means in terms of acceptable levels for human consumption, the estimated dietary intake of BPA from polycarbonate is less than 0.0000125 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day. This level is more than 4000 times lower than the maximum acceptable or 'reference' dose for BPA of 0.05 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day established by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) also increased 'Tolerable Daily Intake' of BPA to the same dose in 2007.

Stated another way, an average adult consumer would have to ingest more than 600 kilograms (about 1,300 pounds) of food and beverages in contact with polycarbonate every day for an entire lifetime to exceed the safety level.

Nevertheless, Wal-Mart Canada has acted in advance of the <1> taking affect in mid July and pulled products containing the plastic. Other retailers such as Toys-R-Us and water bottle producer Nalgene are also listening to public concerns and acting accordingly.

<1>: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/minist/speeches-discours/2008_04_18_e.html