Coalition Responds to Findings on Baby Product Toxins

A coalition of public health and environmental NGOs is calling for a moratorium on Bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles, food and beverage containers, based on the results of a new study’s findings that the toxic chemical leaches from plastics when heated. The study, commissioned by Environmental Defense of Canada and researched in the lab of University of Missouri faculty, found that when new bottles are heated, those manufactured by Avent, Evenflo, Dr. Brown’s and Disney/First Years leached significant amounts of BPA. And recent animal research suggests that even BPA levels lower than these may disrupt normal child development. The synthetic sex hormone, which mimics estrogen and is used to make hard polycarbonate plastic, is used in the making of approximately 95 percent of all baby bottles on the US market. To date, nine states are considering legislation to restrict the use of BPA in children’s products: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania. To learn more and download the study, go to http://www.chej.org/BPA_Website.htm.