URI researcher studies Bisphenol A’s effects

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – A University of Rhode Island researcher is looking for clues about how a chemical in plastic affects humans.
Angela Slitt, assistant professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences in URI’s College of Pharmacy, has a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to study the chemical Bisphenol A. She is examining mice exposed to the chemical to learn more about the compound’s potential effects on humans.
It is a byproduct of plastics manufacturing, generally found in polycarbonate-based products such as food and drink-storage containers, baby bottles, metal-can linings and juice boxes. The food in the various types of containers then absorbs the chemical, which is later consumed and metabolized.
In previous studies and in Slitt’s, the chemical has been shown to be a bodily disruptor, negatively affecting hormone levels, increasing risk for cancers, reproductive-organ dysfunction and metabolic disorders. &#8226