California under pressure to ban bisphenol A in baby bottles

Growing anxiety by consumers over over the possible side-effects of a chemical commonly used in plastic baby bottles and baby formula cans has prompted California lawmakers to consider whether the use of the chemical should be banned.

Should they decide to issue a ban on the use of bisphenol A in products or food containers used by children younger than 3, California would become the first state in the U.S. to take such action against the chemical.

The bill would require that all products or food containers designed for children 3 years and younger contain only trace amounts of the chemical, bisphenol A.

Bisphenol A is known to affect the human hormones, but experts remain uncertain at what levels the chemical becomes unsafe.

While chemical manufacturers continue to argue that the levels currently found in such products are safe, California is just 1 of 12 states considering taking action to limit the chemical's use.

In April this year Canada became the first nation to ban the chemical.

Critics say the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has further clouded the issue by opting to use scientific studies often endorsed by the chemical industry on bisphenol A's safety, rather than peer-reviewed scientific studies.

As the chemical industry manufactures 7 billion pounds of bisphenol A each year the $2.4 million spent lobbying against restricting the chemical during the first half of 2008, appears to be from their point of view, a justifiable expense.

However a recent draft report by the National Toxicology Program, a partnership of federal health agencies, says animal studies had led scientists to have "some concern" that the chemical can cause changes in behaviour and in the brain and that exposure to the chemical might reduce reduce survival and birth weight in fetuses.

Some companies such as Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us and the makers of the hard-plastic Nalgene water bottles are seizing the initiative and say they will stop using the chemical and many other retailers are expected to follow suit.

Bisphenol A is found in hundreds of household goods such as dental sealants, the linings of food cans, CDs and DVDs, spectacles and so on.

Many say it has been used safely for more than 50 years and the American Chemistry Council who have also been lobbying against the bill say many common, everyday products could disappear from grocery stores across the country if the chemical was banned.