It’s been thought by many scientists that a harmful chemical called BPA – which has been linked to birth defects, low birth weights, cancer, early puberty and other health problems – is delivered to the body through food eaten in wholesale plastic containers. This has lead to some health care and environmental professionals to call for a new look into the plastics injection molding process to see if any damage is being done to consumer’s bodies.

But a University of Rochester Medical School study shows results that should be of interest to every plastic manufacturer. It suggests that the problem might not just be limited to plastic containers but that humans could be exposed to BPA through other sources, such as water that has run through CVC pipes or dust from carbonless paper such as cash register receipts.

By having test subject fast and comparing their BPA levels, researchers found that the levels did not change even after a day of not eating. This suggests that people are absorbing BPA from a variety of sources other than food.

In response, Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group of the American Chemistry Council executive director Steven Hentges said that the testing was “speculation” and that there is “no significant level of BPA in drinking water, nor is it present in PVC pipe.”