As editor of The American Chemistry Council is planning a conference call with journalists on Thursday to address "Recent media reports have raised unfounded issues and concerns about the safety of plastic bottles."
Specifically, on April 9 and 10 the Today Show aired a "consumer alert" story about the alleged dangers of plastics, plastic bottles and, in particular, Bisphenol-A, which is used to make polycarbonate containers. The reports were full of inaccuracies which have unnecessarily alarmed the public. In addition, Health Canada is expected to soon release a draft risk assessment about Bisphenol-A which may further confuse and unnecessarily alarm the public. Also this week the National Toxicology Program's (NTP) Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction released a draft report providing reassurance that consumers can continue to use products made from bisphenol A. Importantly, this conclusion has been affirmed by scientific and government bodies worldwide.
It will be interesting to see how many reporters participate in the call, and (assuming ACC takes questions), what sort of comments they'll get.