By now, most are aware that the Food and Drug Administration continues to assert that bisphenol-A, a chemical commonly found in plastics and food containers, is safe for humans despite the mountain of independent studies that say otherwise. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel continues to shed light on how and why FDA is able to maintain claims of safety. The FDA staff report on bisphenol-A safety is based on research sponsored by the plastics industry: The newspaper reviewed the body of evidence that the task force considered. It found memos with entire sections blacked out, reviews commissioned by the American Plastics Council, an arm of the American Chemistry Council, and reviews completed by consulting firms with clients who have financial interests in the sale of bisphenol A. … Much of the science that the task force considered was 20 years old or older, including a study commissioned in 1976. A panel of independent experts is reviewing the FDA staff report and is expected to give its opinion later this month. The panel will have the opportunity to expose the incredible flaws in FDA's research. However, as Reg•Watch blogged last week, the FDA-appointed chair of the panel has ties to an anti-regulatory zealot who is also convinced of bisphenol-A's safety. Scientists cannot say with 100 percent certainty how bisphenol-A affects the body or what doses of the chemical are dangerous. However, nearly every study on bisphenol-A raises concerns. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes human adults with high levels of bisphenol-A in their urine are at greater risk of heart disease and diabetes. The National Toxicology Program — which, like FDA, is an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — "has some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures." Considering studies like those, FDA should provide at least some protection from bisphenol-A while gaps in the scientific literature are closed. Setting an exposure standard is essential to both human health and peace of mind.