California Senate approves ban on BPA in plastics

Despite a fierce lobbying effort by the U.S. chemical industry, the state Senate narrowly approved a proposal Tuesday that would ban the use of a substance in baby bottles, toddler sippy cups and food containers that independent scientists say is a threat to childhood development.

[efoods]The bill by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) that would prohibit the use of bisphenol A — commonly dubbed BPA — now goes to the Assembly, where it is expected to face a wall of resistance from manufacturers of the products that contain the chemical.

Industry leaders have focused on California for a lobbying and public relations campaign they hope will turn back efforts by health and consumer groups to outlaw use of the chemical, a component in many types of plastic and plastic-lined containers.

Researchers from the chemical industry say the public health threat has been vastly overblown, and manufacturers of BPA argue that it has passed muster with nearly a dozen regulatory agencies in Europe and the United States.

Read entire article

This article was posted: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 12:29 pm

---

---

---

---