A new report by the Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program has raised concerns again about plastic bottles. As it turns out, plastic baby bottles have been shown to contain a dangerous chemical called bisphenol A, a synthetic hormone which may cause infertility, cancer and hormonal imbalances in children.

Bisphenol A is a synthetic hormone that has been shown to leach out of a certain type of plastic when heated, endangering the health of consumers. Hard polycarbonate plastic is used in baby bottles, toddler cups, water bottles and other recipients.

The draft brief found some worry that exposure to the chemical could, in the long term, have neural and behavioral effects on fetuses, infants and children at existing exposure levels.

"This is breaking new scientific ground," said Anila Jacob, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit public health group, quoted by The Washington Post. "It says that at very low doses, similar to what people are exposed to now, BPA poses a risk of adverse health conditions."

Chemists from The Food and Drug Administration have analyzed formula cans last year and found no evidence of BPA harming young children in small doses. They concluded that infants would have to ingest over 7,000 times more formula than they do in a day to do any harm. Therefore, the health agency does not plan any ban or limitations on the use of BPA in formula cans.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an organic compound used as a building block to several important polymers and polymer additives. To some degree, it mimics estrogen. Bisphenols have also been used as antioxidants in cosmetics and foods. San Francisco banned it in products for young children effective December 2006, but the ban was not enforced and was taken back in May 2007.