New York(CNN) An rising variety of sports activities bra and athletic put on manufacturers have been discovered with excessive ranges of BPA in them, a chemical compound that is used to make sure sorts of plastic and might result in dangerous well being results corresponding to bronchial asthma, heart problems and weight problems, a watchdog group stated on Wednesday.

After warning clients in October about BPA in athletic garments, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) stated it despatched authorized notices to eight extra manufacturers whose leggings, shorts, sports activities bras, and athletic shirts after testing confirmed the clothes may expose wearers to as much as 40 occasions the protected restrict of BPA, based mostly on requirements set in California, which has among the most protecting well being legal guidelines round chemical substances within the United States.

Under California regulation — particularly Proposition 65, enacted in 1986 — the utmost allowable dose degree for BPA through pores and skin publicity is 3 micrograms per day.

Most BPA publicity, nevertheless, has been studied in the context of ingestion, and pores and skin absorption has been studied largely by means of receipts produced by a heat-generated printer, fairly than by means of garments. BPA is eradicated from the physique inside a couple of days, though some consultants imagine ongoing publicity from a number of sources raises some concern.

Ana Soto, professor of immunology with Tufts University School of Medicine stated the analysis group has established the hazard of BPA publicity each by means of ingestion and dermal absorption (or by means of the pores and skin) into the physique.

“We know about absorption of BPA by handling thermal paper used for store receipts,” stated Soto, who has researched endocrine-disrupting chemical substances, together with BPA, for over 25 years. “The danger of dermal absorption of BPA has been known for a while, too,” she stated. “When you are exposed to a little dose orally and a little dose transdermally, they will together make a large dose. I’ve studied the effects of low doses of BPA during fetal development and found that these low exposure levels increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, behavioral issues and cancer.”

Meanwhile, the American Chemistry Council, an business commerce group, maintains that BPA “is the most thoroughly tested chemicals in use today and has a safety track record of more than 50 years.”

In a press launch in February, the ACC wrote that in 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration printed findings from “the largest study ever conducted to study the full range of potential health effects from exposure to BPA. This study along with many others confirmed that BPA is safe at the very low levels to which consumers are exposed.”

California-based CEH, which carried out the testing, was based in 1996 as a nonprofit shopper advocacy group. It has raised alarm bells over chemical substances in furnishings, carpets, and flooring in addition to lead and cadmium in children’s jewelry. It advises universities, corporations and hospitals on potential chemical risks in merchandise.

The newly examined athletic put on manufacturers and their merchandise embrace leggings from Athleta, Champion, Kohl’s, Nike and Patagonia, sports activities bras from Sweaty Betty, athletic shirts from Fabletics and shorts from Adidas, Champion and Nike. CNN has reached out to the businesses for remark.

A spokesperson for Athleta stated in a press release Wednesday that, “As a certified B-Corp, Athleta is deeply committed to ensuring all our products are made to applicable safety standards. We believe the CEH claims have no merit and stand by our products and practices.”

Previously, the CEH warned consumers in October that sports activities bras from Athleta, PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, All in Motion, Nike, and FILA that had been examined for BPA over a six months interval confirmed the clothes may expose wearers to as much as 22 occasions the protected restrict of BPA, based mostly on requirements set in California.

The group had additionally examined athletic shirts in October from manufacturers that included The North Face, Brooks, Mizuno, Athleta, New Balance, and Reebok and located related outcomes.

The CEH had despatched authorized notices to the businesses final 12 months, giving them 60 days to work with the middle to treatment the violations earlier than the group filed a criticism in California state courtroom requiring them to take action. The group stated it subsequently initiated lawsuits in February in opposition to the businesses.

To date, the watchdog stated its investigations have discovered BPA solely in polyester-based clothes containing spandex. “We want brands to reformulate their products to remove all bisphenols including BPA. In the interim, we recommend limiting the time you spend in your activewear by changing after your workout,” the group stated.

Athleta, Nike, Reebok, The North Face and Victoria’s Secret (which owns PINK) didn’t present a remark to CNN on the time.

BPA (Bisphenol A) is present in a lot of on a regular basis merchandise, from water bottles and canned meals to toys and flooring. In adults, publicity to BPA has been linked to diabetes, coronary heart illness, most cancers, weight problems and erectile dysfunction.

Premature dying was additionally related to BPA publicity, a 2020 study found. More not too long ago, BPA has additionally been linked to asthma in school-age women.

“People are exposed to BPA through ingestion, from eating food or drinking water from containers that have leached BPA, or by absorption through skin,” Kaya Allan Sugerman, CEH’s unlawful poisonous threats program director, stated in a press release.

“Studies have shown that BPA can be absorbed through skin and end up in the bloodstream after handling receipt paper for seconds or a few minutes at a time. Sports bras and athletic shirts are worn for hours at a time, and you are meant to sweat in them, so it is concerning to be finding such high levels of BPA in our clothing,” Allan Sugerman stated.

Over the previous 12 months, the CEH has requested greater than 90 corporations, together with Walgreens and socks and sleepwear model Hypnotic Hats, to reformulate their merchandise to take away all bisphenols, together with BPA. Some have already agreed to take action.

“Even low levels of exposure [to BPA] during pregnancy have been associated with a variety of health problems in offspring,” stated Dr. Jimena Díaz Leiva, science director with CEH.

“Consumers can also be exposed to BPA through personal care products like skin lotions or dental sealant,” stated Pam Factor-Litvak, professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. With material discovered to have BPA, she stated BPA is chemically bonded to material however can come off simply.

“The chemical bonds in BPA are not strong so it can could get on from plastic that contained the clothing or through a chemical that was used to make fabric stretchy,” she stated. “Manufacturers have found it to be a useful chemical because it can make fabric soft and malleable.”

Although CEH litigates underneath California’s Clean Drinking Water and Toxics Enforcement Act of 1986, it says the repercussions of its settlements prolong past California “as it is most often economically infeasible for companies to reformulate for just the California market.”

“Our legal action has been successful in pushing entire industries to remove certain chemicals from products like children’s candy or toys,” the group stated in a press release to CNN Business in October. “These cases not only serve to protect California consumers but also consumers throughout the country.”

Update: This story has been up to date so as to add context about BPA publicity, together with that pores and skin publicity research are restricted and California’s laws are probably the most stringent within the United States.

CNN’s Brenda Goodman contributed to this report.