Bisphenol A is currently the "toxin du jour," but the chemical has been used safely for about 60 years to make plastic bottles hard and shatter-proof, for the coatings of metal food containers, and even in cell phones and medical devices, wrote the president and founder of the American Council on Science and Health.
In a commentary in Forbes, Elizabeth M. Whelan notes that California's Senate recently passed Senate Bill 797, which would prohibit the use of BPA in any baby bottle or container of infant formula. Chicago recently banned such products from city shelves, and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wants Coca-Cola, Del Monte and other companies investigated for trying to stop anti-BPA legislation. Whelan writes:
"There is no end in sight to the anti-chemical witch hunt against 'toxins' in products. Once BPA is banned, the activists will move onto another scare: Are there trace levels of dioxin in the paper cups your toddler drinks out of? Ban paper cups! Could there be lead in the playground sand box? Close all sandboxes! If in five years the alternative to BPA is shown to cause cancer in rodents -- well, ban that too.
"Finally, underscore the fact that chemicals like BPA, which have been used for decades with no deleterious health consequences, may well be safer than hastily introduced alternatives."
As Kim Stone, CJAC's Vice President - Legislation, notes in letters to California legislators in opposition to the bill, the use of BPA for food contact applications has been and continues to be recognized as safe by both the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Agency.
Prohibitions will likely lead to additional unmerited litigation against manufacturers and users of BPA, Stone wrote. The bill is also unnecessary in light of the Legislative passage of AB 1879, a measure designed to give sound science the lead in evaluating chemical risks in consumer products.
Senate Bill 797 will be heard on June 30 in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.