California Considers Restrictions On Baby Bottle Chemical

Legislators in California are considering a bill that would restrict a chemical, known as bisphenol A, that is widely used in plastic baby bottles and infant formula cans. 

If passed, the new law would allow only trace amounts of bisphenol A in products and food containers made for children ages three and under. 

Although scientists differ on whether low amounts of bisphenol A in food and beverage containers is harmful, there is little disagreement that the chemical can disrupt hormonal systems in humans.

In addition to baby bottles, the chemical is found in the linings of food cans, dental sealants, CDs, DVDs, eyeglasses and hundreds of other common household items.

In a recent draft report, the National Toxicology Program, a partnership of federal health agencies, expressed "some concern" that bisphenol A can cause brain and behavioral changes, and that it may reduce survival and birth weight in fetuses. However, the program’s conclusions were based on studies using animals, not humans.

Testifying before Congress in June, Dr. Norris Alderson However, the Food and Drug Administration’s associate commissioner for science, said there was no reason for consumers to stop using products containing the chemical.

But growing consumer anxiety has nevertheless prompted some governments and retailers to take action.  In addition to California, at least 11 other states have considered bills to restrict bisphenol A.

Canada has already announced it intends to ban the chemical in baby bottles, and the U.S. Congress is considering new legislation that would prohibit bisphenol A in children’s products.

Both Toys “R” Us and Wal-Mart have said they will halt sales of bottles made with the chemical next year. And Nalgene, which makes hard-plastic water bottles, announced in April that it would stop using bisphenol A in its products.

The California bill, which is awaiting a vote by the state Assembly, passed the Senate earlier this year. Should the bill pass, it remains unclear whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign it into law.

The bill was authored by state Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), who said California is merely following retailers that are voluntarily ceasing to use the chemical in their products.

"I think manufacturers who make money should do all they can to make their products safe," Migden told the Associated Press.

"This is just one step. It ought to be banned for everything."

However, grocery retailers, the chemical industry, bottled water companies and food processors emphasize that bisphenol A has been used safely for more than half a century.

Colleen Coghlan, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Can Manufacturers Institute, which opposes the California bill, said it is nebulous and could give rise to unintended consequences. 

“It could lead to a blanket ban on some canned foods, since their containers often have bisphenol A in their linings, and parents might blend the contents to feed infants”, said told the Associated Press.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) also has been lobbying in opposition to the bill.

"Many common, everyday products could disappear from grocery stores all across California," said an ACC mailer.

In response to the ad campaign, Migden amended the bill to emphasize that food and beverage containers designed for the general population would not be affected by the restrictions. Instead, only manufacturers of food and beverages for young children would be required to reduce levels of bisphenol A in their packaging to 0.5 parts per billion by 2012. Baby cups and bottles would be required to have just 0.1 parts per billion or less beginning January 1.

Scott Hendrick, a policy associate at the National Conference of State Legislatures who is monitoring the legislation, told the AP that none of the bills considered in 11 other states had so far passed.

In Maryland, a bill stalled in committee in the wake of heavy opposition from the chemical industry, supporters said. 

"I think they’ve been discredited now," Hubbard said, in reference to the bill’s opponents.

In Minnesota, the state Legislature came close to approving a ban this year as part of a broader chemical bill. But bisphenol A was removed from the legislation amid reservations expressed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said Health Legacy coordinator Lindsay Dahl. Pawlenty ultimately vetoed the pared-down version.

Last year, Gov. Schwarzenegger approved legislation banning a common chemical known as phthalates in baby products and toys. However, at the time he told legislators that a "product-by-product" ban was not the best way to construct state policy on potentially unsafe chemicals.

In 2007, the Schwarzenegger administration created a "green chemistry" initiative with the purpose of studying how California should regulate chemicals.  The approach is favored by many scientists and by industry.

Megan Schwarzman, a San Francisco family physician and research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, supports Schwarzenegger’s approach, but believes bisphenol A should be restricted immediately due to its potential impact on children.

"We should definitely take steps to limit our exposure to the substance," she told the AP.

"Anything we can do to reduce bisphenol A could potentially have big payoffs to protecting human health."
 
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On the Net:

• National Toxicology Program
• FDA
• American Chemistry Council
• National Conference of State Legislatures