Polycarbonate bottles raise questions

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**AP Photo/File**Dr. Kim Mulvihill reporting

The controversy over plastic bottles is heating up.

Polycarbonate drinking bottles are reusable and better for the environment, but you may want to think twice about putting hot water into them.

A new study shows a chemical used in their manufacture leeches 55 times more rapidly from the bottles into the liquids when the liquid is hot. That's true for both new and used bottles.

The chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, affects reproduction and brain development in lab animals.

Researchers say it's unclear what's a safe amount for humans.

Dozens of state and national environmental health organizations in the U.S. are calling for an immediate moratorium on the use of BPA in baby bottles and other food and beverage containers.

Meanwhile, most government agencies contend the current, very low levels of exposure to BPA from plastic bottles do not pose a hazard to human health.