23. CHEMICALS: BPA bans pass in Wis. Senate, Wash. House (01/27/2010)

Bisphenol A would be banned from baby bottles and sipping cups for children 3 years old and younger under a bill the Wisconsin Senate unanimously passed yesterday.
The state's Assembly Consumer Protection Committee passed an identical ban yesterday, making the bill ready for a vote in the House. Gov. Jim Doyle (D) supports a ban, said spokesman Adam Collins.

If the ban is enacted, Wisconsin would join Canada, Minnesota, Connecticut, Chicago and three counties in New York in prohibiting the use of BPA in baby bottles.
Last year, the six major baby bottle makers announced they would stop using the chemical in their products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently conducting a review of its earlier decision that found BPA to be safe, but under the current regulatory framework the agency would not have the authority to demand that BPA makers reveal how much of the chemical it makes and where it is used (Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 26).

The Washington state House passed a similar ban Monday on using BPA in children's products with a 95-1 vote.

Rep. Bruce Chandler (R-Granger) cast the lone vote against the ban. "If we are going to pass something, it shouldn't be just for show. I felt that bill was just for show," he said, expressing a preference for national action on BPA, which he said is already under way.

The state Senate version of the bill passed out of committee last week but not with a BPA ban for sports water bottles, which is included in the House bill.
State legislation is necessary because FDA did not endorse an outright ban on BPA in children's products, supporters of the bill said (John Dodge, The Olympian, Jan. 26). -- DFM