U.S BILL NOT passed yet>> Canada declares chemical in plastic bottles unsafe: USA TODAY4/18/2008 ~ Senators Propose Ban on Chemical in Plastics April 30, 2008

[Guest guest]

BPA is just another name for phthalates. . . . found in breast implants! . . .

Let's see, you can't allow kids up to age 7 to drink from bottle made with phthalates, but it's OK if they nurse from breasts loaded with it? . . .

Please contact your Senators to tell them that banning phthalates is very important . . . just as stopping child-bearing age women from getting breast implants!

Hugs,

Rogene

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Senators Propose Ban on Chemical in Plastics

By Lyndsey LaytonWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, April 30, 2008; A04

Senate Democrats introduced a bill yesterday that would ban a controversial chemical found in plastics from all products made for infants and children up to age 7 and would direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the health risks the chemical may pose to both children and adults.

"There have been enough warning signs about the dangers of this chemical that we cannot sit idly by and continue to allow vulnerable children and infants to be exposed," said Sen.. E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). His bill to ban bisphenol A, or BPA, was co-sponsored by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), J. Durbin (Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), F. Kerry (Mass.) and Menendez (N.J.).

Schumer said he wants the CDC to weigh in because of conflicting scientific studies on BPA. A growing body of new studies has linked the chemical to prostate and breast cancers, diabetes, behavioral disorders such as hyperactivity, and reproductive problems in laboratory animals.

This month, the National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, was the first federal agency to raise concerns about the effect of the chemical on fetuses, infants and children. "The report earlier this month was an eye-opener," Schumer said. "Now we want to get one final, indisputable ruling, once and for all, on the effects of BPA on adults, and pregnant women in particular."

But the chemical industry and the agencies that regulate the use of BPA, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, have deemed the chemical safe.

The FDA's handling of BPA is being investigated by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Chairman D. Dingell (D-Mich.) said he is concerned that the FDA based its safety rating on two studies, both funded by the chemical industry. More than 100 studies performed by government scientists and university laboratories have found health concerns associated with BPA; the industry-funded studies say it is safe.

Yesterday, Dingell expanded his investigation to include the Consumer Product Safety Commission. While the FDA regulates bottles and food containers, the commission oversees a range of other goods aimed at children that may contain BPA, such as utensils, dishes, toys, car seats and play yards.

Dingell has asked the commission if products it regulates contain BPA and what actions the commission has taken to protect the public health or warn consumers about possible hazards.

Spokeswoman Vallese said the commission agrees with the FDA that the chemical is safe. She said her agency believes BPA poses the greatest health risk when it is comes into contact with food and drink and not in the types of products overseen by the commission. The agency studied rattles, teething rings and pacifiers in 2002 and found BPA in five of 133 plastics samples taken from those items, Vallese said. It has not studied whether the chemical is present in other products it regulates, she said.

BPA, in commercial use since the 1950s, is found in a wide variety of everyday items, including baby bottles, compact discs and automobiles. One federal study estimated the chemical is found in the urine of 93 percent of the population.

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Find this article at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-04-18-bpa-danger_N.htm

Canada declares chemical in plastic bottles unsafe

TORONTO (AP) — An ubiquitous chemical found in hard plastic water bottles, DVDs, CDs and hundreds of other common items came under increased pressure Friday when Canada said it's potentially harmful and may ban its use in baby bottles.

Health Canada made the announcement shortly after a U.S. company said it would stop selling hard-plastic Nalgene water bottles made with bisphenol A because of growing consumer concern over whether the chemical poses a health risk.

MORE: Concerns 'cannot be dismissed'

Health Canada 's action could be the first step toward Canada banning the chemical altogether.

Earlier this week, the U.S. government's National Toxicology Program said that there is "some concern" about BPA from experiments on rats that linked the chemical to changes in behavior and the brain, early puberty and possibly precancerous changes in the prostate and breast. While such animal studies only provide "limited evidence" of risk, the draft report said a possible effect on humans "cannot be dismissed."

With more than 6 million pounds produced in the United States each year, bisphenol A is found in dental sealants, baby bottles, the liners of food cans, CDs and DVDs, eyeglasses and hundreds of household goods.

In Canada , Health Minister Tony Clement said a draft report on bisphenol A has found the chemical could endanger people — particularly newborns and infants — and the environment.

"To be prudent, the government of Canada is proposing to reduce bisphenol A exposure in infants and newborns by proposing a number of actions: to ban polycarbonate baby bottles; to develop stringent migration targets for bisphenol A in infant formula cans; to work with industry to develop alternative food packaging and develop a code of practice; and to list bisphenol A under Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act."

Ottawa is giving the public 60 days to comment on the report and Clement said it will ban its use in baby bottles if no new relevant information comes forward.

"It is our intention to ban the importation, the sale and advertising," Clement said of its use in baby bottles. " Canada will be the first country in the world to take such action to limit exposures to bisphenol A."

Earlier this week, Wal-Mart Canada and other major retailers in Canada began removing BPA-based food-related products such as baby bottles and sipping cups from store shelves.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said in a statement Friday that the Bentonville, Ark.-based company expected its entire assortment of baby bottles to be BPA-free early next year.

Highly durable and lightweight, resistant to stains and odors, and able to withstand extremes of hot and cold, screw-cap Nalgene bottles have been marketed as an environmentally responsible substitute for disposable water bottles.

Citing multiple studies in the United States , Europe and Japan , the chemicals industry maintains that polycarbonate bottles contain little BPA and leach traces considered too low to harm humans.

But critics point to an influx of animal studies linking low doses to a wide variety of ailments — from breast and prostate cancer, obesity and hyperactivity, to miscarriages and other reproductive failures.

"I think the writing's on the wall for this chemical," said Freeman, policy director of Toronto-based Environmental Defence Canada . "You've got major retailers with huge market clout pulling BPA products ... and you've got consumers in droves who are opting for alternatives. They're a bit late to the game, but they are responding to that consumer demand."

In Washington a key Democratic Senator said the chemical should be banned from all children's products and food-packing containers. Sen. Schumer of New York blasted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for signing off on bisphenol A, despite dozens of studies suggesting it may interfere with hormones and other biological functions.

"At best FDA gave Americans a false sense of comfort about a questionable substance. At worst, they put millions of Americans directly at risk," Schumer said.

Schumer plans to introduce a bill Monday banning the chemical and funding a public health campaign on its potential risks to infants. Other lawmakers are expected to propose similar measures.

An expert panel of 38 academic and government researchers who attended a U.S. National Institutes of Health-sponsored conference said in a study in August that "the potential for BPA to impact human health is a concern, and more research is clearly needed."

Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said Friday it will substitute its Nalgene Outdoor line of polycarbonate plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives.

"We continue to believe that Nalgene products containing BPA are safe for their intended use," Silverman, general manager of the Nalgene business, said in a statement. "However, our customers indicated they preferred BPA-free alternatives and we acted in response to those concerns."

Nalge Nunc was founded in 1949 by Rochester chemist Emanuel Goldberg. The lab-equipment supplier's product evolved in the 1970s after rumors spread about its scientists taking hardy lab vessels on weekend outings. That led the company to form a water-bottle consumer unit targeting Boy Scouts, hikers and campers.

In 2000, a new sports line of Nalgene-brand bottles offered in red, blue and yellow hues quickly became the rage in high schools and on college campuses.

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