Advocacy Group Publishes BPA Action Plan for Federal Agencies
The Center for Progressive Reform has issued a paper titled “Protecting the Public from BPA: An Action Plan for Federal Agencies.” Contending that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which is used extensively in food contact materials, has negative health effects in low doses and that federal agencies have failed, to date, to regulate it, the center outlines short-term and long-term actions they should take. Among other matters, the paper suggests that the Food and Drug Administration use its new mandatory recall authority under the Food Safety Modernization Act to “recall certain foods containing toxins such as BPA, if the health hazard concerns become too great and traditional regulatory methods ineffective at protecting the public.”
The paper also recommends that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) update its Integrated Risk Information System, which contains toxicological profiles on industrial chemicals, “to include current data to reflect the risks that have recently come to light, especially concerning low-dose effects.” As an alternative, the paper calls on EPA to list BPA on its “chemicals of concern” list “to further educate the public about the chemical’s risks.” And, “[a]s a short-term option, NIOSH [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] and OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] should perform more workplace studies and develop a more comprehensive database of workplace exposures and risks.” The paper also suggests that the Consumer Product Safety Commission be authorized to regulate BPA much as it was authorized to regulate phthalates in children’s toys and products when Congress enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
Recognizing that research gaps persist, the paper “urges a two-phase approach to BPA regulation. The first phase should produce immediate information collection and dissemination, including early warnings for the public and stricter guidance for industry. The second phase should include long-term regulatory controls, standards, and protections, to be promulgated as soon as missing information becomes available.”
Meanwhile, the Columbia Missourian newspaper recently profiled University of Missouri Biology Professor Frederick vom Saal, who has made BPA the focus of several decades of research and has repeatedly campaigned against its use. He reportedly attended a September 2011 meeting of scientists concerned that federal agencies have failed to act in the face of “mountainous evidence” of its purported low-dose health effects and is nearly done collaborating with colleagues on a new paper that will reflect the conference’s conclusions. They plan to disseminate all or parts of the paper to Congress, regulatory agencies and the public through the news media, as well as abroad, where vom Saal believes it will have an impact on regulatory systems more protective of public health than the United States. See Columbia Missourian, January 31, 2012.
