Governments across the world might be pressurized to put a ban on Bisphenol-A (BPA), after a new study claims to have found a link between levels of BPA in the blood and male infertility. BPA has been shown to decrease sperm mobility and quality.

BPA is widely used for making plastics harder and watertight tin cans. It is found in most daily use food and drink cans – including infant formula tins, plastic food containers, and even mobile phone cases, and other electronic goods.BPA has been under research because it hampers the activity of the endocrine. Earlier studies have even linked it to low sex drive, impotence and DNA damage in sperm.

California based research center Kaiser Permanente studied 514 workers in factories of China, and found that men with higher urine BPA levels were two to four times more at risk of having poor semen quality, including low sperm concentration and poor mobility.

Lead author of the study Dr De-Kun Li said that men with detectable urine BPA had more than three times the risk of lowered sperm concentration and lower sperm vitality, more than four times the risk of a lower sperm count, and more than twice the risk of lower sperm motility than those who did not have BPA in urine. He claimed that the research, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, was the first human study to report an adverse association between BPA and semen quality.Previous studies found a negative link between BPA and male reproduction in mice and rats.

The first study, published in November 2009, found that too much exposure to BPA in the workplace increases a man's risk of reduced sexual function.

The latest study, funded by the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, raises further doubt on the safety of BPA.

Li warned that the study was even revealing about BPA‘s potential potency as it could lead to pathological changes of the male reproductive system in addition to the changes of sexual function.BPA has already been banned in Canada and three American states.

Products containing the chemical have been linked to breast cancer, heart disease, obesity, hyperactivity and other disorders. Baby bottle manufacturers have stopped putting it in their products, although older stocks are still found in the market.