NEW parents are on edge when it comes to their baby's well-being so any hint of a health risk will have them frantically Googling for answers.

Recent reports about the health risks associated with hard plastic baby bottles have made many mums and dads nervous.

It all started in the US back in 2007 when a report by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said a chemical in polycarbonate plastic bottles, called Bisphenol-A (BPA), caused reproductive abnormalities in mice.

Since then various reports have linked BPA to a range of problems including diabetes, liver problems and even reduced sperm production.

Last month opponents of BPA got another boost when a Harvard School of Public Health study revealed that BPA from clear polycarbonate water bottles leaches into your body.

The study required 77 Harvard students to drink from polycarbonate bottles for a week and the findings revealed that the concentration of BPA in their urine increased by 69pc.

In the UK a study by the University of Exeter showed that people with higher concentrations of BPA in their urine were also more likely to have heart problems or type 2 diabetes.

This month the California senate passed a bill to outlaw the sale of baby bottles and cups that contain BPA. This follows similar sanctions in Minnesota, Connecticut and the city of Chicago.

The Canadian government has classified bisphenol-A as a toxic substance and plans to restrict the levels in food containers and also potentially ban polycarbonate feeding bottles.

With such international concern about bisphenol-A how are academics, the regulatory authorities and parents reacting to this news in Ireland?

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Dr Niall Geraghty is a chemistry lecturer at NUI Galway and explains the science behind BPA.

"Baby bottles are made up of very big molecules. BPA is combined with other molecules to make up the bottle. Imagine big links on a chain, if you hit the chain hard enough a bit of the chain will come off.

"BPA is a petro-chemical and the most common way of it coming away is from the cleaning process such as washing and heating," says Dr Geraghty.

"This is why baby bottles have become the focus, because they are used over and over, not like water bottles which are just thrown out."

Dr Geraghty disagrees that there's an immediate health risk associated with the chemical substance BPA.

"It has been around since the 1930s and if there were any major health concerns it would have come to light before now.

"There is a divergence of opinion with the risk associated with it because it's a molecule just like a million others.

Question

"It is very healthy that people review and question things on an ongoing basis and that evidence that comes to light is evaluated. There is a possibility that the Canadian government may reverse their decision in time or that we may follow their decision," he added.

Some parents are taking no chances, like Nurney, Co Carlow-based Grace Maher, who has a seven-month-old baby boy, Rowan.

"I am a development officer with the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association and have always been interested in the pesticide issue."

Up until recently Grace was breastfeeding Rowan but now that she's back at work he is getting bottles instead.

She is aware of the debate on BPA in the US because her husband is from California.

"My husband is Californian, where it is a hot topic, so we were discussing it when we were over visiting the relations. When I was in the States I bought BPA-free bibs and baby spoons. I use glass baby bottles, which are more sustainable and they are easier to wash than plastic.

"Babies are more susceptible to things. I think their system isn't fully developed and they have a small metabolism. Particularly because Rowan was premature I was aware of how small his little system was," she says.

Protection

"I know you can't protect your baby from everything and BPA is in everything from DVDs to cans but at such an early stage in their life it is easy to make the choice in the shop to buy BPA-free."

Grace is also sceptical about some of the scientific advice that is out there about environmental chemicals and infant health.

"I think scientists review things in isolation and they don't look at it from a cumulative point of view. They don't look at all the different toxins going into a little baby's system."

In Ireland the Food Safety Authority is responsible for approving products containing BPA and they believe there is no need for parents to be alarmed.

Europe-wide regulations have been in place since 2004 to enforce strict restrictions on the levels of Bisphenol-A allowed in feeding and drinking equipment. This especially applies to products for children under the age of three.

Spokesman Rhodri Evans is the chief specialist in toxicology with the Irish Food Safety Authority.

"The advice is that there's no need to avoid BPA. There have been a lot of studies done on BPA and various reviews of safety. Two recent reviews, in 2006 and 2008, specifically looked at exposure in young infants.

"The studies have looked at the effect of low-level exposure and also examined how it metabolised in humans and in rats. What we found is that the metabolism in rats is slower.

"The European Food Safety Authority undertook a risk assessment and found humans have a very different way of dealing with BPA, discovering that exposure in babies is very low.

"It also found that the detoxification method of rats wasn't relevant to humans and that we are able to deal with the toxins efficiently.

"If new information comes to light, though, we will look at it," he explained.

Toxico-pathologist Professor Vyvyan Howard, from the University of Ulster, still has his doubts.

"Science is always ahead of government agencies. I don't agree with the Food Safety Authority that BPA is safe.

"All the literature together has led to the ban in Canada. We now have a situation that Canada has declared it a toxic substance and I would agree," says Prof Howard.

Risk

"Parents can easily buy glass and my advice would be to avoid it if at all possible. You can't take risks when you have a baby with a tiny system that is developing."

Prof Howard also follows through on this advice with his own family.

"My own children were breastfed. I have a 12-week-old who is breastfed and we use glass bottles."

Large stockists of baby bottles containing BPA are taking account of public concerns.

Boots have taken the initiative by removing Bisphenol-A from its own brand of plastic bottles.

"Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. As a result of their feedback, we have now relaunched all the Boots own brand standard neck baby bottles in polypropylene, which does not contain BPA.

"It is also planned for the full range of Boots own brand baby bottles to be free from BPA within four months," said a spokesperson.

Mothercare issued a statement to reassure their customers about plastic bottles with Bisphenol-A.

"Scientific evidence shows there are no safety issues with polycarbonate and we will continue to offer customer choice with a wide range of baby feeding bottles.

"All bottles, beakers and drinking cups sold by Mothercare comply with the European requirements.

"We continue to offer the polycarbonate bottles and have consulted with toxicological and chemical experts at an independent test lab, who advise that the restricted levels set by the European requirements are below any levels which would cause concern," the statement concluded.

- Mary Kirwan