Calif. lawmakers weigh chemical ban in baby items .... Washington Post Sunday, August 10, 2008

[Guest guest]

Now if they would just ban breast implants that contain bisphenol A!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/10/AR2008081001300.html?hpid=sec-health Calif.

lawmakers weigh chemical ban in baby items By SAMANTHA YOUNG The Associated Press

Washington Post Sunday, August 10, 2008; 6:02 PM SACRAMENTO,

Calif. -- Responding to growing consumer anxiety,

California lawmakers are considering

enacting what could be the first statewide restrictions on a chemical found in

plastic baby bottles and infant formula cans. The bill would require that all products or food

containers designed for children 3 years and younger contain only trace amounts

of the chemical, bisphenol A. There is little dispute that bisphenol A can

disrupt the hormonal system, but scientists differ on whether the very low

amounts found in food and beverage containers can be harmful. The National Toxicology Program, a partnership

of federal health agencies, said in a recent draft report that there is

"some concern" that the chemical can cause changes in behavior and

the brain, and that it may reduce survival and birth weight in fetuses. The

conclusion was based on animal studies. However, the Food and Drug Administration's

associate commissioner for science, Dr. Norris Alderson, told Congress in June

that there was no reason for consumers to stop using products that contain the

chemical. Despite the uncertainty, consumer concern has

prompted some governments and retailers to act. Congress is considering legislation to ban it in

children's products, and Canada has announced it intends to ban the use of the chemical in baby bottles. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys "R" Us

Inc. say they will stop selling baby bottles made with the chemical next year,

and the maker of the hard-plastic Nalgene water bottles announced in April that

it would stop using the chemical. At least 11 other states have considered bills

to restrict it. California's bill was approved earlier this year by the state Senate and it

is awaiting a vote by the Assembly. It's not yet clear whether Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger will sign it if the Legislature sends it to him. The bill's author, state Sen. Carole Migden,

said California is simply following in the footsteps of retailers that are voluntarily pulling

products from store shelves. "I think manufacturers who make money

should do all they can to make their products safe," said Migden, D-San

Francisco. "This is just one step. It ought to be banned for

everything." Bisphenol A is found in dental sealants, the

linings of food cans, CDs and DVDs, eyeglasses and hundreds of other household

goods. The chemical industry, grocery retailers, bottled water companies and

food processors say it has been used safely for more than 50 years. A spokeswoman for the canned goods industry said

the California bill is vague and could lead to unintended consequences. It could lead to a

blanket ban on some canned foods, since their containers often have bisphenol A

in their linings, and parents might blend the contents to feed infants, said

Colleen Coghlan, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Can Manufacturers

Institute, which opposes the bill. The American Chemistry Council also has been

lobbying against it. "Many common, everyday products could disappear from

grocery stores all across California ,"

says a mailer sent out by the council. Migden responded to the advertising blitz by

amending her bill to emphasize that food and beverage containers designed for

the general population would not be affected. She said only manufacturers of baby food and

beverages intended for young children would have to reduce the chemical in

their packaging to 0.5 parts per billion by 2012, a standard now being met in

Japan .

Baby bottles and cups could have just 0.1 parts per billion or less of the

chemical beginning Jan. 1. None of the bills considered in 11 other states

has passed so far, said Hendrick, a policy associate at the National

Conference of State Legislatures who is tracking the legislation. In land ,

a bill by Del. Hubbard stalled in committee after what supporters

described as heavy lobbying from the chemical industry. "I think they've been

discredited now," Hubbard said, referring to opponents. The Minnesota Legislature came close to

approving a bisphenol A ban this year as part of a broader chemical bill.

Bisphenol A was removed from the legislation after Gov. Tim Pawlenty expressed

reservations, said Dahl, coordinator of Health Legacy, a coalition of

public health groups based in Minnesota .

Pawlenty eventually vetoed the slimmed-down version of the law. Schwarzenegger signed legislation last year

banning a common chemical known as phthalates in baby products and toys. But he

told lawmakers at the time that a "product-by-product" ban was not

the most effective way to craft state policy on potentially unsafe chemicals. The Schwarzenegger administration created a

"green chemistry" initiative in 2007 to study how

California should regulate chemicals, an

approach favored by industry and many scientists. Schwarzman, a San

Francisco family physician and research scientist at the

University of California ,

Berkeley ,

endorses Schwarzenegger's comprehensive approach. But she says bisphenol A

should be restricted immediately because of its potential effects on children. "We should definitely take steps to limit

our exposure to the substance," Schwarzman said. "Anything we can do

to reduce bisphenol A could potentially have big payoffs to protecting human

health." ___

Associated Press Writer Witte in polis ,

Md. , contributed to this report.

___

National Toxicology Program: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/