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In the mid-1990s, Frederick vom Saal, a professor of biological sciences now at the University of Missouri–Columbia, began to wonder whether the same blocking mechanism blocked man-made estrogenic chemicals as well. Those chemicals, in theory at least, could have the same harmful effect on the fetus. Did sex-hormone-binding globulins protect against those, too?

The answer was not good. “The great majority of man-made chemicals,” vom Saal found, “are not inhibited from entering cells like natural estrogens are.” Worse, vom Saal found, “the receptor in the cell that causes changes when estrogen binds to it [remember, changes that can, at specific stages of development, be extremely harmful] is very responsive” to synthetic estrogenic chemicals, including BPA.1

Armed with (and alarmed by) this finding, vom Saal and others started testing the actual effects of BPA on the development of mice. The findings confirmed their worst fears. And because the “molecular mechanisms at the cellular level [produce] no difference in the way that mouse and rat cells respond to BPA and the way that human cells respond to it,”2 vom Saal believed he had tripped onto a potential health disaster. Almost everyone (95 percent) within the developed world now has “blood levels of [BPA] within the range ‘that is predicted to be biologically active,’ based on animal studies conducted with low doses of the chemical.”3 A study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that “BPA concentrations increased by 69% in the urine of subjects who drank from plastic bottles containing BPA.”4 Some studies have even detected BPA in the cord blood of newborns.5 The consequences of this exposure according to this study range from “reduced sperm count to spontaneous miscarriages; from prostate and breast cancers to degenerative brain diseases; from attention deficit disorders to obesity and insulin resistance, which links it to Type 2 diabetes.”6 Indeed, just last year, “the White House task force on childhood obesity worried [that BPA] might be promoting obesity in children.”7 Its fear followed this extensive and growing research.

Vom Saal’s conclusions are not his alone. Indeed, to give the issue prominence, more than thirty-six “of the world’s best brains on BPA” signed “an unprecedented consensus statement [that] laid out [the] chilling conclusions” of the research.8 In the view of these scientists, BPA is a danger already causing significant harm to children in developed nations, and will no doubt cause more harm in the years to come.

Not all scientists agree with vom Saal and his colleagues, however. Indeed, there are many who believe BPA is either harmless or not yet proven to cause harm in humans. Many of the studies of BPA, these scientists believe, have been methodologically flawed. Indeed, the National Institutes of Health itself has acknowledged problems with some of the research.9 Regulations that would ban BPA, these scientists believe, are an unnecessary burden that will only raise the cost of the products our children need (and yes, reader who has never had a child, children need pacifiers).

Among those insisting upon the safety of BPA is, not surprisingly, the industry that produces it. In December 2009, Harper’s published a summary memo from a meeting of the “BPA Joint Trade Association.” That meeting was intended to “develop potential communication/media strategies around BPA.” Members at the meeting believed that a “balance of legislative and grassroots outreach (to young mothers and students) is imperative to the stability of their industry.” Among the strategies discussed was “using fear tactics (e.g., ‘Do you want to have access to baby food anymore?’),” and urging that consumers should have choice (e.g., “You have a choice: the more expensive product that is frozen or fresh, or foods packaged in cans”). The association was concerned that the “media is starting to ignore their side,” and “doubts obtaining a scientific spokesman is attainable.” The memo identified the “holy grail spokesman” for the BPA