Chemical used in plastic products linked to heart disease

A chemical used in making some plastic household items, such as refillable beverage bottles, food storage containers and infant sippy cups, appears to be linked to heart disease.

British researchers found people with the highest concentrations of bisphenol A, or BPA, in their urine were twice as likely to report heart problems as those with the lowest concentrations.

Team leader David Melzer says more study is needed to determine if BPA causes heart  disease. Canada, Minnesota, Connecticut, Washington and Chicago have already passed laws banning BPA in infant products. About a dozen states have similar bills pending.

Communications director Margie Kelly of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a network of coalitions with a common concern about toxic chemicals, recommends buying BPA-free products. She also says to avoid polycarbonate plastic containers, which usually are labeled No. 7, although not all No. 7 plastics contain BPA.

“It shouldn’t take a Ph.D. in chemistry to be able to shop safely for your family,” Kelly says. “Congress and state legislatures must act so unsafe chemicals like BPA are removed from the market.”