California EPA plans to list BPA (bisphenol A) as harmful

[CreekDog]

State EPA plans to list BPA as harmful
Stephanie M. Lee
Published 9:14 pm, Friday, January 25, 2013

A chemical widely used in plastics and believed to harm fetuses and infants is on track to being declared a reproductive hazard in California, a state agency said Friday.

The move by an arm of the state's Environmental Protection Agency means the compound, bisphenol A, could soon be listed under Proposition 65. Manufacturers would ultimately be required to include warning labels on products with hazardous amounts of BPA.

"We think it's been a long time coming and we're happy that it's happening," said Sarah Janssen, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.

Since the 1960s, bisphenol A has been present in plastic bottles, the linings of canned food, dental sealants and receipts made of thermal paper.

...

To merit a warning, a substance must exceed a predetermined level. But the amount of BPA found in the metal cans of food and beverages typically falls below the exposure level proposed by the state, 290 micrograms a day, Janssen said.

Little change at stores
"It helps to officially recognize BPA as a hazard," she said. "But what's it going to mean to somebody's shopping experience? Probably not much. You're probably not going to see a warning label for BPA on at least most consumer products. That doesn't necessarily mean they're safe."

...

Report from 2008
This time, the state pointed to a 2008 report from the National Toxicology Program. In the report, the federal agency expressed concern about BPA's effects on development of the prostate gland and brain, and its behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children.

Since then, a slew of new animal studies have suggested that BPA can harm the mammary glands, prostate tissue and brain. In addition to reproductive problems, multiple other studies have linked BPA to a predisposition to breast cancer, prostate cancer, behavioral changes, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

...

Also Friday, a state panel voted to list two new carcinogens under Prop. 65: a textile dye and a chemical used in industrial processes. They join arsenic, formaldehyde, marijuana smoke and nearly 800 other hazardous chemicals that have been listed since 1986.

http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/State-EPA-plans-to-list-BPA-as-harmful-4225183.php

forgot the link at first, sorry!

[ROBROX]

1. THE SOONER WE LIST A CHEMICAL THE BETTER

To be listed there has to be lots of proof that the chemical does harm.

I am glad California leads the way to the future weather it is GOOD or a BAD future. I see our future as GOOD but the GOP will try to drag us bad to a DARK FUTURE......