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Baby Products Are No Place For Toxic Chemicals
VICTORY!
Governor Brown signed the ban on BPA in baby feeding containers into law on October 4, 2011. Thanks to the thousands of CLCV members who contacted their representatives and the governor in support of the bill! After 5 years of working to pass the ban, public health finally beat the deep pockets of the chemical industry.
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California will now be regulating one of the most notorious chemicals affecting our children: bisphenol-A (BPA). The Toxin-Free Infants & Toddlers Act, Assembly Bill 1319 (Butler), bans the use of BPA in children’s feeding containers like bottles and sippy cups.
This landmark legislation will keep California kids safer and healthier. And because California represents such a large consumer market, other states and countries will reap the benefits of our ban as manufacturers conform to our safer standard.
Thank you to Assemblywoman Betsy Butler for authoring the bill, and to everyone who signed on, forwarded, called, and donated to our efforts to pass the BPA ban. For five years, we have fought to protect our children from this toxic chemical -- and those efforts have culminated in this year’s victory. Hundreds of thousands of California's children will be protected from a known cancer-causing chemical from this day forward.
More about BPA
BPA is a synthetic estrogen that is widely used in certain kinds of plastics and epoxy resins, including those commonly found in baby bottles. Exposure to BPA mainly occurs from the chemical leaching from containers into food and drinks. BPA is a known hormone disruptor, and the National Institutes of Health is concerned that BPA exposure in infants may lead to problems with brain development and behavior, early puberty, and cancer.
BPA is an unstable polymer, meaning that the chemical bonds between molecules can be easily disrupted by heat, acidic substances, and many other conditions. Once bonds break, BPA leaches out of the plastic, entering food and ultimately our bodies.
Why Ban BPA in sippy cups and baby bottles?
- Over 200 studies found that BPA exposure at very low doses is linked to many health problems including prostate and breast cancer, obesity, ADHD, altered development of the brain and immune system, lowered sperm counts and early-onset puberty.
- Even minuscule amounts - parts per billion or parts per trillion - have been shown to cross the placenta and disrupt normal prenatal development.
- Exposure to BPA during pregnancy, infancy and childhood is of particular concern to scientists. The brains and other organs of infants and children are constantly developing, undergoing periods of particular sensitivity to chemical exposures. Any disruption to their hormonal systems during development can set the stage for later-life diseases such as cancer.
Safe alternatives to BPA are available. While some manufacturers have already removed BPA from their products, the chemical is still used widely on the market. Movements worldwide are happening to change this. Eleven states and many countries have banned BPA in baby bottles, including China, Canada and those in the European Union.