World News

Erectile dysfunction has become the latest heath risk to be connected with exposure to the controversial chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) that is used in some clear plastics for packaging.

Following widespread concern over its use in baby's bottles, a new study by American firm Kaiser Permanente has found that male workers at BPA manufacturing facilities were nearly four times as likely to suffer from reduced sexual desire than those who were not exposed to the chemical.

They were also found to be more than four times as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction and more than seven times more prone to ejaculation difficulty.

For the study, 230 Chinese factory workers exposed to high levels of BPA were asked questions about their sex lives. Their answers were compared with those of a control group of 404 workers in the same city who were not exposed to BPA in the workplace.

The BPA levels experienced were 50 times higher than those that the average American male was exposed to, the study's authors said.

"Because the BPA levels in this study were very high, more research needs to be done to see how low a level of BPA exposure may have effects on our reproductive system," said Doctor De-Kun Li, the report's lead author.

"This study raises the question – is there a safe level for BPA exposure, and what is that level," he said.

He added that the research could have worrying implications beyond male sexual dysfunction, with the study's findings an early indicator of other adverse effects of BPA exposure.

BPA is a key building block in a number of plastics but debate over its safety for human consumption has been raging for a number of years.

Other studies have linked BPA to a risk of brain damage, birth defects, hyperactivity, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and prostate cancer. Although other research has concluded that low-level exposure does not affect adults, there are concerns that it could affect the young.

However, many organisations, including the Food and Drink Federation and the British Soft Drinks Association, have argued that it is safe for use in packaging.

Earlier this year, three US politicians called for a ban of BPA by lodging the Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2009 at the Senate in Washington.

The Kaiser Permanente study was published this week in medical journal Human Reproduction and was funded by the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Click here to read the article.

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