BPA Bans Gain Traction in State Legislatures
The Washington and Wisconsin legislatures have reportedly passed bills that would prohibit the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles, sipping cups and other food and beverage containers intended for children younger than age 3. In light of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent decision to reassess the plasticizer’s safety, the Washington House of Representatives voted 95-1 in favor of legislation (H. 1180) that would prohibit BPA in bottles, cups or other containers designed primarily for this age group, as well as any sports water bottles, as of July 1, 2011. The bill now heads to the Senate, where the Health and Long-Term Care Committee has delivered a similar version to legislators.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Senate has adopted its own BPA measure (S. 127), an identical version of which has already passed the Assembly Consumer Protection Committee and now awaits that chamber’s approval. In addition, Vermont lawmakers recently proposed a bill (S. 247) that would forbid the manufacture, distribution or sale of “any reusable food and beverage container containing BPA,” as well as “any infant formula or baby food stored in a plastic container, jar, or can that contains BPA.”
If their legislative efforts remain on schedule, these states would apparently join Connecticut, Minnesota, Chicago, and three New York counties in restricting the use of BPA in children’s products. “The FDA’s announcement… which was a compete about-face . . . has really galvanized support for passing bans in the states,” one spokesperson for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families was quoted as saying. “That was enough of a red flag for states to be able to say, ‘If we know enough now that it’s a concern, let’s do enough to protect kids.’” See The Journal Sentinel, Law360 and The Olympian, January 26, 2010.
