RUDE HEALTH

DRINKING from BPA-free plastic bottles may be as damaging to fertility as using those that do contain BPA (bisphenol A) — a compound used to make some plastics until it was found to cause reproductive problems.

The problems with BPA were first indicated when a scientist at Washington State University noticed mice kept in plastic cages began to show reproductive problems including abnormal eggs and low sperm counts.

This was found to be due to BPA leaching out of the surfaces.

This time, the same issue was observed in mice in BPAfree cages. On further investigation, reported in the journal Current Biology, it was found that the changes were caused by the cages leaching out bisphenol S (BPS), one of the additives used to replace BPA.