Scholars with the Center for Progressive Reform have written a letter to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Cass Sunstein asking that OIRA conclude its review of the proposed listing of bisphenol A (BPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Stating that the review has been “delayed far longer than Executive Order guidelines allow,” the June 20, 2011, letter was apparently prompted by an earlier U.S. Chamber of Commerce letter that urged OIRA to suspend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) consideration and initiation of all TSCA listings. The center scholars note that the listing, which includes “chemicals of concern,” informs the public about EPA’s current thinking about these chemicals and could lead to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would invite public comment. According to the letter, the Chamber pays “lip service” to such transparency, but “its goal is to head off issuance of an NPRM.”…
Tag Archives BPA
University of Missouri scientists have reportedly published the first study to examine “serum BPA [bisphenol A] concentrations in an animal model exposed to this chemical via the diet,” as opposed to oral bolus exposure. Paizlee Sieli, et al., “Comparison of Serum Bisphenol A Concentrations in Mice Exposed to Bisphenol A through the Diet Versus Oral Bolus Exposure,” Environmental Health Perspectives, June 6, 2011. After comparing BPA serum concentrations in adult female mice after oral bolus administration or ad libitum feeding, researchers concluded that bolus administration “underestimates bioavailable serum BPA concentrations in animals and therefore, presumably humans than would result from dietary exposure.” According to the study, these results suggest that “exposure via diet is a more natural continuous exposure route than oral bolus exposure, and thus, a better predictor of BPA concentrations in chronically exposed animals and humans.”
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) has signed a bill (H.B. 4/S.B. 151) prohibiting the manufacture, sale or distribution of infant formula containers with a “certain amount” of bisphenol A (BPA). Effective July 1, 2014, the legislation restricts BPA levels in the containers to not more than 0.5 parts per billion and prohibits the state from purchasing containers with BPA levels exceeding that amount. Offenders of the law would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fines as high as $10,000 for each violation. The law also calls for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report to lawmakers by September 1, 2012, on BPA federal research findings and regulatory activities and to address the availability and safety of BPA substitutes for infant formula containers. It authorizes the state health secretary to suspend implementation of the BPA restriction on infant formula containers if “the secretary certifies that the…
A study presented at the 2011 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Denver, Colorado, has evidently suggested an association between prenatal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and wheezing in childhood. According to a May 1, 2011, press release, researchers followed 367 pairs of mothers and infants, measuring BPA levels in the urine of pregnant woman “at 16 and 26 weeks’ gestation as well as when they delivered their babies,” and asking mothers “every six months for three years… whether their child wheezed.” Although “99 percent of children were born to mothers who had detectable BPA in their urine at some point during pregnancy,” those infants “whose mothers had high levels of BPA during pregnancy were twice as likely to wheeze as babies whose mothers had low levels of BPA.” The researchers noted, however, that the association held true in the youngest group of children only, with no differences in wheezing rates by…
Swedish government officials have reportedly asked food processors and packaging companies to submit alternatives to bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage can linings. The Swedish Chemicals Agency and the National Food Administration want the companies to submit plans by the end of 2011 and manufacturers to outline when BPA alternatives would be available to the food industry. See CN Brewing, April 20, 2011.
A recent study led by the Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute reportedly concluded that both bisphenol A (BPA) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposures “were substantially reduced when participants’ diets were restricted to food with limited packaging.” Ruthann Rudel, et al., “Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention,” Environmental Health Perspectives, March 30, 2011. Researchers selected “20 participants in five families based on self-reported use of canned and packaged foods,” and then directed these subjects to eat “their usual diet, followed by three days of ‘fresh foods’ not canned or packaged in plastic,” before returning to their customary habits. The results of urinary samples taken over the eight-day experiment reportedly demonstrated a significant decrease in BPA and DEHP metabolites during the fresh foods intervention. According to the Silent Spring Institute, these findings allegedly “show that food packaging is the major source of…
A recent study of commercially available plastic products has reportedly claimed that “almost all” those sampled leached chemicals having reliably detectable estrogenic activity (EA). Chun Z. Yang, et al., “Most Plastic Products Release Estrogenic Chemicals: A Potential Health Problem That Can Be Solved,” Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2011. Researchers evidently used “a very sensitive, accurate, repeatable, roboticized MCF-7 cell proliferation assay to quantify the EA of chemicals leached into saline or ethanol extracts of many types of commercially available plastic materials, some exposed to common-use stresses,” such as microwaving or UV radiation. The results indicated that these products, “independent of the type of resin, product, or retail source,” emitted chemicals having EA despite being advertised as EA-free. In particular, products labeled free of bisphenol A (BPA) sometimes released chemicals “having more EA than BPA-containing products,” according to the study’s authors, who pointed to “existing, relatively-expensive monomers and additives that do not…
In an academic analysis, a Tufts University researcher has reportedly called for “strong legislation” to protect Canadians from continued exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) in light of Canada last year becoming the first country to declare the chemical a toxic substance. Laura Vandenberg, “Exposure to bisphenol A in Canada: invoking the precautionary principle,” Canadian Medical Association Journal, February 2011. Although noting that Canadians have half the levels of BPA in their bodies as Americans—reasons for which may include the absence of Canadian BPA production plants—Vandenberg suggests that the lack of a BPA ban in Canada puzzles consumers. “Health Canada continues to maintain that bisphenol A is safe at current exposure levels and does not pose any risk to the general population; regulations to remove bisphenol A from all food-contact sources, or ban it completely, are not yet forthcoming, presenting a conflict that is likely to confuse the public,” Vandenberg wrote.…
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) have introduced bills (S. 136; H.R. 432) that would ban the use of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in food containers such as baby and water bottles, sippy cups and those used for canned foods and infant formula. Markey notes in a statement that he “led the fight to ban BPA from food and beverage containers” in the past two Congresses. Feinstein, whose bill is co-sponsored by Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), and Al Franken (D-Minn.), said, “Scientific evidence increasingly shows that BPA poses serious health risks, especially to children, and manufacturers and retailers have already started to offer BPA-free products in their shelves…. The time has come to take action.” The Senate bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the House bill is pending before the House Committee on…
Northeast dairy farmers have reportedly settled their price-fixing claims against Dean Foods Co. for $30 million and injunctive relief requiring the company to buy a portion of its raw milk from multiple sources. Allen v. Dairy Farmers of America, No. __ (D. Vt., settlement reached December 24, 2010). While the agreement requires court approval, it would reportedly allow some 5,000 to 10,000 farmers to file claims for monetary damages over allegations that Dean Foods would buy milk only through Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and its affiliates in the region. According to counsel for the plaintiffs, the case will continue against DFA, to resolve claims that “the nation’s largest cooperative monopolized a level of distribution of fluid milk in the Northeast and forced dairy farmers to join DFA or its marketing affiliate [Dairy Marketing Services] to survive.” See DairyLine.com, December 24, 2010; Worcester Business Journal, December 27, 2010; and Burlington…
