Controversial plastics chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) has returned to the front pages after a US study found links to reduced sperm quality.
Researchers at the universities of Michigan and Harvard tested 190 men over a month and found sperm concentration was about 23% lower for those men with the highest concentration of BPA.
Today's Daily Mail ran the story, as did the Metro, which splashed it on its front page.
The study is likely to infuriate the plastics industry, which has consistently argued that while BPA is used in a number of plastics, it is employed at safe levels that are well below anything that would cause a health risk.
The researchers admitted that more study was needed to build on the preliminary data.
John Meeker, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, led the research.
He said: "Much of the focus for BPA is on the exposures in utero or in early life, which is of course important, but this [research] suggests exposure may also be a concern for adults."
Last year,
The 190 men gave sperm and urine samples and 78 gave additional urine sample a month apart. BPA was detected in 89% of the urine samples.
"We found that if we compare somebody in the top quartile of exposure with the lowest, sperm concentration was on average about 23% lower in men with the highest BPA," said Meeker.
France and Denmark have
BPA is a chemical used in plastics and epoxy resins used to make packaging and other products.
UK plastics packaging and food bodies have previously
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