The American Chemical Council has hit back at research released in February by the University of Cincinnati, USA, which suggests that cumulative environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) from polycarbonate bottles might harm human health. Scientists at Cincinnati say boiling water can cause BPA to be released from new and used polycarbonate packs up to 55 times more rapidly. Lead researcher Scott Belcher says that, though there has been no clinical evidence, "There is a strong suspicion in the scientific community that BPA has harmful effects on humans." He adds: "Previous studies have shown that if you repeatedly scrub, dish-wash and boil polycarbonate baby bottles, they release BPA. We wanted to know if normal use caused increased release."
