Government report on safety of chemical was written by chemical industry

A Food and Drug Administration report asserting that Bispehnol A – a chemical just classified as a toxin by Canada’s government – is safe was written largely by the chemical industry that stands to benefit from a favorable FDA ruling, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The report was released as a draft in August and is now under review by the FDA. The agency is expected to issue a ruling any day now on BPA’s safety.

FDA documents show that the document was mostly prepared by representatives from the chemical industry, including Stephen Hentges, executive director of the American Chemistry Council's group on bisphenol A. The draft states that BPA is not a health threat, despite a host of scientific studies that indicate otherwise.

It is even in conflict with the FDA’s own advisers at the National Toxicology Program, which announced in September that BPA is associated with a host of medical problems.

A Congressional committee is now looking into the FDA’s independence on the BPA issue, including the fact that the head of the FDA’s BPA subcommittee chairman accepted a $5 million donation from a chemical manufacturer with an outspoken position on BPA and didn’t report it.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation has asked FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to appear for an interview by committee staff to explain the agency's decision-making relating to bisphenol A.

"Specifically, why industry-funded studies provide the basis of your regulatory decisions and why the totality of the science around the chemical continues to be ignored by your science-based agency," the committee letter said.

The Journal Sentinel reviewed the body of scientific evidence that the FDA’s subcommittee considered. It found that the subcommittee relied on reviews of scientific studies compiled by the American Plastics Council and by consulting firms with clients who have financial interests in the sale of bisphenol A, a chemical which had $6 billion in sales last year. In many cases these scientific reviews were in opposition to review findings provided by the National Toxicology Program.

Columbia University professor David Rosner, who researches the relationship of industry and government regulators of toxic substances, has compared the controversy over bisphenol A to tobacco and asbestos.

"It makes sense that we have a process that is not tainted by corruption," he said. "This looks tainted."

UPDATE: The Journal Sentinel wrote a next-day follow-up: Critics slam chemical report: Scientists note flaws in bisphenol A study; lawmaker wants ban.