Massachusetts public health officials are weighing whether to warn pregnant women and young children to avoid food, drinks, and other items containing bisphenol A, in the latest in a series of intensifying efforts around the country to eliminate the controversial chemical from products.
Health officials say they are examining the science behind the odorless, tasteless chemical known as BPA to determine whether to issue a public health advisory or an outright ban on the chemical, which is used in hundreds of everyday products, including sippy cups, pacifiers, and some baby bottles.
Growing evidence indicates that low levels of BPA might cause developmental problems in fetuses and young children, as well as other ill effects. BPA is used to make reuseable, hard plastic bottles more durable, and it is in the resins that line canned goods such as soup and infant formula to prevent corrosion. Children can ingest tiny amounts of the chemical when they drink from cups or baby bottles or if they are given canned formula.
"We are evaluating the science . . . to come up with the best information that makes public health and consumer sense," said Suzanne Condon, director of the state Bureau of Environmental Health. She said the department, if it issues a warning, wants to provide a list of safer alternatives, but a lack of information on substitutes and recent cuts to the department's budget have delayed efforts. She said she hopes to decide within a few months on an advisory. A ban would take longer.
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Massachusetts Officials Consider Banning Plastic Bottles with BPA
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Officials mull ban on some bottles
Those with BPA may be harmful
By Beth Daley
The Boston Globe, March 20, 2009
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