Still Hope for BPA-free kids in California

Posted on Jun 29, 2010

An attempt to ban Bisphenol-A (BPA) in California fell short of several critical votes yesterday—but it’s not over yet.

California has always fancied itself as a leader in progressive environmental and health policy, so it’s quite baffling why a ban on BPA has not been able to pass yet. Vermont, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Washington, Maryland, Minnesota, the city of Chicago and four counties in New York state — Albany, Schenectady, Suffolk and Rockland — have all been successful in implementing BPA bans. Canada, Australia and New Zealand also have bans on BPA in children’s drinking containers, and New York is working to ban BPA across the entire state. So why is California having troubles passing a BPA ban?

The sponsor of the bill, state Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica), spoke to undecided lawmakers citing more than 200 studies linking BPA to health issues like cancers and neurological problems.

However, the American Chemistry Council, which last year spent more than $5 million influencing Sacramento, cited even more studies trying to make the claim that BPA is safe, and that its usage should be allowed in baby bottles and sippy cups.

That statement happens to be different than the claim of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which began a series of actions to address the potential effects of BPA and issued an action plan that concentrates on the chemical’s environmental effects last March. EPA said it would look to add BPA to its list of chemicals of concern, which would mandate environmental testing for BPA.

BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastics, including baby bottles, sports bottles, reusable food and drink containers, bicycle helmets, CDs and DVDs. It is also an ingredient in the epoxy resins used to line metal cans.

The chemical is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones and may lead to negative health effects that include neurological disorders (especially for fetuses and children), breast and prostate cancer, and problems with the reproductive system.

Growing public awareness about the concerns with BPA have already resulted in safer alternatives in the marketplace. So then why do we need a law? Because everyone needs to be protected.

As Assemblymember Kevin DeLeon noted, “You can go into middle class supermarkets and get BPA-free products, but you can’t get them in every store. Our low-income neighborhoods need them too.”

The bill gained 37 votes, which was just four votes short of the 41 necessary for it to be passed. The fight is not over though, and there are still two months to find those votes in order to make California a healthier state, and prove to the rest of the country that it is still a leader in environmental health.

So if you like the idea of keeping BPA out of sippy cups & other children’s bottles, help prove that people trump dollars by clicking here to take action. We need your calls NOW as the vote could be as early as Thursday, July 1.