A 12-member NIH panel is disagreeing with a scientific consensus statement published this month about the health hazards of bisphenol A, a common component of plastics. In the statement, in Reproductive Toxicology, 38 scientists warn that the product may cause serious human reproductive disorders.

As we reported in February, researchers led by Randy Jirtle at Duke University exposed mouse mothers-to-be to bisphenol A, which has been banned from baby products in the UK. The research, published in August 1 by PNAS, showed BPA exposure in the womb affects phenotype by altering the epigenome. (Interestingly, the group found the effects could be counteracted if the pregnant mother ate genistein, a phytoestrogen found in soy.)

However, the NIH panel, set up by the National Institute of Health's Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, disagrees with the scientists' conclusions, and has concluded the health effects were "negligible. "

The Los Angeles Times found that the original NIH report on BPA was written by a consulting group with ties to companies that make BPA. This group was fired, but USA Today says independent scientists are saying the revised draft contains too many industry-funded studies.