How much should one be concerned about the following things, and to what extent are they true?

I saw Study Ties Chemical to Possible Miscarriage Risk today, and it reminded me of some other things I've heard claimed about Bisphenol-a (BPA)- that it may cause males to have smaller penis size than if they had not been exposed to it.

Chemical May Stunt Growth of Genitals in Prenatal Males. and Studies Link Chemicals to Genital, Breast Development.

I watched a documentary named Plastic Planet, and it had me concerned from the day I watched it; highly recommended.

This is from the 1st link:

"BOSTON (AP) - New research suggests that high levels of BPA, a chemical in many plastics and canned food linings, might raise the risk of miscarriage in women prone to that problem or having trouble getting pregnant.

The work is not nearly enough to prove a link, but it adds to "the biological plausibility" that BPA might affect fertility and other aspects of health, said Dr. Linda Giudice, a California biochemist who is president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The study was to be presented Monday at the group's annual conference in Boston. Last month, ASRM and an obstetricians group urged more attention to environmental chemicals and their potential hazards for pregnant women.

BPA, short for bisphenol-A, and certain other environmental chemicals can have very weak, hormone-like effects. Tests show BPA in nearly everyone's urine, though the chemical has been removed from baby bottles and many reusable drink containers in recent years. The federal Food and Drug Administration says BPA is safe as used now in other food containers.

Most miscarriages are due to egg or chromosome problems, and a study in mice suggested BPA might influence that risk, said Dr. Ruth Lathi, a Stanford University reproductive endocrinologist."

This is a small portion from the second link:

"A growing body of research suggests that some chemicals used in consumer products may cause public health problems by interfering with sex hormones. A study in the current issue of the journal Endocrinology exposed newborn mice to bisphenol-A [BPA], a chemical found in plastics and dental sealants, at doses comparable to those found in the human environment. At puberty the mice were more likely to develop cancer-related mammary-duct abnormalities."

It's good to be concerned about endocrine disruptive compounds (EDCs, an umbrella name referring to molecules such as BPA,
pthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls etc etc) but there is not always much you can do about that. For once, for every scientist that is against for this or that compound there is another who considers it benign...it is quite a polarising subject and the economical/industrial repercursions of being against/in favour are way too complex.

Truth is that just like the situation with the illegalisation of drugs where 10 new RCs pop for every RC banned, stopping the use of, say, BPA won't change much because you will never know how much safer the alternatives will be. And as long as you live on planet earth (that contains EDCs from natural or human origins), trying to live in a EDC-free environment is an uphill fight that verges to the impossible.

To a certain extent its useless but you can take precautions. Such as to never microwave plastics. People think that if they eat it and don't die or get immediately sick from it then there mustn't be any harm from it, but that's far from true.