The Red, White, and Green

As Minnesota last week became the first state to ban plastics component and suspected endocrine disrupter bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles, sippy cups, and other food containers for children 3 and under, others are following suit; legislators in California and Connecticut are currently considering similar measures, and yesterday, the Chicago City Council voted to ban BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups. As this issue makes it way into the mainstream media, and consumers push for major retailers to eliminate BPA from their products (both Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R Us have announced they will stop selling baby bottles made with BPA), the release on Tuesday of a particularly damning study by researchers at Harvard University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could provide exactly the fuel necessary to make the banning of BPA a federal issue. 

The study, which was published in the online version of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, followed 77 Harvard student volunteers as they drank cold beverages from BPA-laden polycarbonate baby bottles. After just one week, the volunteers experienced a nearly 70 percent increase in urinary levels of BPA. While the findings certainly implicate baby bottles as a source of BPA exposure for infants — whose developing systems are more susceptible to the hormone-disrupting chemical — it also highlights how easily adults can be exposed to BPA.

While the baby bottle/BPA link has been much publicized, the chemical isn’t limited to those products alone; BPA can also be found in the linings of canned food and beverages, polycarbonate water bottles (yes, even the reusable ones that are marketed as an “eco-friendly” alternative to using single-use water bottles; make sure you buy one that specifically says “BPA-free” or use a stainless steel or aluminum one), and many products made with No. 7 plastics. And with BPA being linked to everything from cancer and cardiovascular disease to diabetes, obesity, and other chronic conditions, the CDC’s involvement in this study can only make us optimistic that the FDA will reconsider last year’s controversial ruling that BPA is safe.

Since the FDA has yet to step in, the best solution is to do what Americans always do best — vote with your wallet. Don’t buy products that contain BPA, and contact the stores you shop in to urge them to ban BPA from their merchandise.

–Jennifer Grayson

 Like this post? Subscribe to The Red, White, and Green RSS feed