Letters: Baby Bottles; Virginia Tech

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MICHELE NORRIS, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.

And it's time for some of your comments about yesterday's program. We got some mail about our conversation with the Dr. Michael Shelby. He was the lead researcher on a draft report by the government's National Toxicology Program. His panel looked at data from studies of animals. They found that exposure to a chemical called bisphenol, used in baby bottles and other food containers, had caused some pre-cancer in mice.

My co-host Melissa Block asked the researcher this question.

MELISSA BLOCK: If you had a grandchild who is being bottle fed, would you say, hmm, maybe don't use that plastic bottle, how about a glass one. Would you say that?

Dr. MICHAEL SHELBY (Director, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction): I don't have that situation to face right now. So, I would have to take under consideration. I think, if used properly these bottles may will be safe. I mean, we just can't say whether they are or not.

NORRIS: The parents among you were out in force, responding to our story. Here's an e-mail from John Schweidler(ph) of Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a father of a two-year-old who was raised on plastic-bottle-fed milk and with another child coming, I appreciate your story. He continues, after Dr. Shelby's suggestion that if used properly, these bottles may well be safe. I can only guess he means not using them at all. How am I supposed to use a plastic baby bottle safely if it sheds this toxic chemical? The title of your story should have been, Researcher Says Plastic Dangerous to Children, But Don't Worry, Be Happy.

Scott Walkenburg(ph) of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania had a different concern. My wife and I plan to bottle feed and the prospect of poisoning our new infant is terrifying. Yet, as a scientist, I was appalled at this course of your interview. You failed to ask Dr. Shelby this critical question. At what dose are the toxicity and developmental effects observed in animals? Like all chemicals, even water, becomes toxic at high doses.

Finally, to our coverage of the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings. Our reporter in Blacksburg brought us the story of quiet memorial held there. We also spoke with one of the university's French professors. His department lost two faculty members and 15 students.

Peter Jones(ph) of Boston asked, what can we teach our children so that a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again? The world is not a safe place. And someone will, unfortunately, probably try this again. We need to teach this to our children if they are ever in a situation like Virginia Tech, resist.

We welcome all of your comments. Please visit npr.org/contact.

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