BPA found in 90 percent of newborns

A recent study has found that nine of 10 babies tested were born with bisphenol A in their systems, causing renewed calls for the chemical to be banned.

In the Wednesday-released study, commissioned by the Environmental Working Group, scientists reported they had found the chemical in nine of 10 randomly selected samples of umbilical cord blood.

Previously, studies have found BPA in the urine of 93 percent of Americans tested. However, Wednesday’s study is the first to find it in the cord blood of U.S. newborns.

“It’s alarming,” Janet Gray, director of the Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer project at Vassar College, said of the study results. “What more evidence do we need to act?”

More than 6 billion pounds of BPA are used each year to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. The chemical is used in thousands of common products, including the lining of nearly all food and beverage cans and as coating for carbonless paper receipts.

BPA, which was developed as a synthetic estrogen, has been linked to breast and prostate cancer, cognitive and behavioral problems, reproductive failures, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and obesity.

Scientists and health advocates have called for the chemical to be banned but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared it to be safe for all uses – though that decision, based on two studies paid for by the chemical industry, is being reviewed.

The FDA’s decision had been due Monday, but the agency postponed its decision. Agency officials said they are working to complete it within weeks.