A survey recently released by the Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) at George Mason University found that media reports of alleged health risks associated with the chemical BPA were seriously misleading and accuses those reports of causing “unnecessary public anxiety.” These results are in direct contrast to a study released in May by the Harvard School of Public Health that found a definite link between urinary BPA levels and drinking from polycarbonate bottles.
In a statement, STATS said its study showed media ignored “the extensive research of respected scientists and major health agencies in the United States and around the world, which found BPA was not only safe but played an important role in ensuring food safety. Instead, over the past two years, the media has promoted a series often flawed, unreplicated and irrelevant studies by a small group of activists claiming that BPA is harmful.”
The research organization added, “Unsupported claims that plastic containers made with BPA danger the lives of “millions of babies” have been eagerly reported, while little attempt has been made by the media to discover the facts or balance their stories with the views of the majority of scientists and government agencies, according to the study by the nonprofit group.”
The STATS reported concluded that the media gave insufficient attention to the European Unions Food Safety Authoritys finding that BPA is safe, as well as similar findings by regulatory bodies and expert panels in Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark.
The study also singles out the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal for its “anti-BPA crusade,” a series of “investigative” articles last year that were based almost entirely on the views of activists, but were nevertheless mirrored by many other publications. It notes the comment of a senior scientist at the National Toxicology Program, who said the articles not only ignored important research, but ignored the “very concept of the weight of evidence.”
