Doctors are calling for tougher regulation of the chemical BPA amid health harms

Medical experts have called for an overhaul of plastics regulation in Australia as growing evidence indicates that neuroendocrine-disrupting chemicals are linked with the development of autism.

Florey Institute researchers Wah Chin Boon, left, and Anne-Louise Ponsonby at the University of Melbourne. Picture: Nadir Kinani

The nation’s top doctors’ group has called for an overhaul of plastics regulation in Australia as growing evidence indicates that neuroendocrine-­disrupting chemicals found in disposable water bottles, food containers, canned food packaging and cosmetics are linked with the development of autism.

Groundbreaking research published by Melbourne’s Florey Institute this week found children with low levels of a key brain enzyme who were born to mothers with higher levels of plastic chemicals in their wombs were six times more likely to develop autism by the time they were a teenager.

The study is the most extensive undertaken on the connection between prenatal exposure to the plastic chemical bisphenol A and the development of autism in children worldwide, and for the first time established a biological ­pathway between the substance and autism spectrum disorder.

BPA can disrupt the body’s hormonal balance and spark epigenetic changes that may be associated with a wide range of diseases, including cancer.

The study found that BPA suppresses a brain enzyme called aromatase – particularly important for boys’ development – and is associated with anatomical, neurological and behavioural changes in male mice that may be consistent with autism spectrum disorder.

The Florey study has prompted scrutiny on Australia’s regulation of BPA, which is significantly more lax than tough revised European limits recommended following a scientific review by the European Food Safety Authority that declared BPA “a health concern for consumers across all age groups”.

The EFSA said in February that its review considered “a vast quantity of scientific publications, including over 800 new studies published since January 2013”.

The European regulator slashed the tolerable daily intake of BPA in February this year to 0.2 nanograms per kg of body weight, and in June a European Commission member states expert committee voted in support of a proposal to ban some bisphenols, including BPA, in food contact materials.

The ban would cover plastic and coated packaging and other types of products like food processing equipment. Australia does not have a mandated TDI for BPA or maximum levels in the Food Standards Code.

Australian regulator Food Standards Australia New Zealand says there are no safety concerns regarding BPA at the levels people are exposed to. In 2010, it initiated a voluntary industry code to remove BPA from baby bottles.

The Australian Medical Association along with leading Australian fertility experts and endocrinologists are calling for a review of Australia’s regulation of BPA in the light of the Florey research and the revised position in Europe.

“In Europe, authorities are considering banning BPAs in any surfaces that contact our food – that should shock all of us in ­Australia,” said AMA president Steve Robson, an obstetrician-­gynaecologist and fertility specialist.

“FSANZ needs to have a good hard look at the protections ­proposed for Europeans. In view of the data it’s time that FSANZ considers stricter regulation to bring us in line with European standards.

“BPAs are so ubiquitous now that it’s difficult for us to find people who haven’t been exposed – that makes studies difficult. But the absence of evidence doesn’t mean there’s an absence of evidence of their effects.”

“BPAs disrupt the healthy function of our hormonal systems and that should be a huge concern. We have lines of evidence that they may reduce our fertility and with one child in every 18 in Australia an IVF baby, we absolutely have to take this very seriously. Links have also been drawn with breast cancer, which so often is hormone-dependent.”

The chair of the Division of Medicine at Austin Health, endocrinologist Jeffrey Zajac, also called for a review of Australia’s regulatory position. “It is clear some chemicals … do affect endocrine function, particularly in regards to fertility,” said Professor Zajac. “The link is difficult to prove, but one potential explanation is these chemicals. If there is evidence a particular level of chemical exposure has been shown rigorously to influence endocrine function, that’s a reason for regulating it.

“If our rules are different from Europe, it’s possible EU rules are something we ought to consider.”

Australia’s food regulator said it established mandated maximum levels for contaminants only when it had been determined there was a potential risk to public health that should be managed by a standard. “Since no public health and safety concerns have been established for Australian consumers, FSANZ has not established an maximum level,” a spokesperson said.

“While FSANZ will continue to monitor the emerging situation with respect to BPA, surveys undertaken in Australia have shown that very few foods contain detectable levels of BPA, and that the levels do not present a human health and safety concern.”

Responding to doctors’ concerns, the regulator noted that EFSA assessment included a significant number of human studies that investigated neurotoxicity and developmental neurotoxicity.

“EFSA concluded that the evidence examining children with exposure during pregnancy or post-natally did not suggest any endpoints related to neurodevelopment as critical for risk assessment,” the FSANZ spokesperson said. “Further where an association was observed it did not occur in more than one study and subsequent research failed to replicate the results.

“FSANZ has not yet had an opportunity to review the Florey paper but will consider the conclusions as part of the overall weight of evidence with respect to neurodevelopment as a critical endpoint for BPA risk assessment. FSANZ will undertake a review if new evidence indicates it is warranted.”