Bisphenol A (BPA) Research Program
Program Lead
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Jerrold (Jerry) Heindel, Ph.D. (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/dert/cospb/staff/heindel/index.cfm)
Program Administrator -
Tel (919) 541-0781
Fax (919) 541-0462
heindelj@niehs.nih.gov -
P.O. Box 12233
Mail Drop K3-15
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
Delivery Instructions
Program Description
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. People can be exposed to BPA from many different sources, but the most common way BPA gets into the body is when a person consumes foods or beverages from packaging containing BPA. BPA is also found in medical devices, compact discs, water supply pipes, paper receipts, and many other products.
Scientists, public health practitioners, and consumers have expressed concern over the potential health effects of exposure to BPA. BPA is an endocrine disruptor, with estrogenic activity, which means that it has the potential to interfere with the body’s natural hormones. In addition, BPA exposure is widespread. A study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 93 percent of a sample of 2,517 Americans over age 6 had detectable levels of BPA in their urine.
Studies using animal models have shown that levels of BPA exposure, in the range of what many humans experience, can cause harmful health effects in animals. After examining the current science on BPA in 2007, the National Toxicology Program concluded that the chemical is of some concern for its potential effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children. BPA is also being investigated for its potential role in obesity, diabetes, reproductive disorders, cancers, and other health problems.
NIEHS funds a variety of research grants to investigate the health effects of BPA in human studies and animal model systems. For example, NIEHS applied funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support two-year studies seeking to fill research gaps and enhance our understanding of the effects of BPA exposure. These and other NIEHS-funded research projects are working together in a virtual consortium to collaborate and integrate their efforts to examine how BPA affects the health and development of people who are exposed to the chemical in the womb, during childhood, and throughout life.
