From
The Baltimore Sun:
As scientific evidence mounts against
bisphenol-A, a chemical used in plastic baby bottles, soup cans and other containers, many states - including Maryland - are starting to take action to limit the chemical ahead of any federal regulation.
The states are responding to some scientists, consumer groups and now even federal officials who have been sounding alarms about the chemical better known as BPA, which has been linked to developmental disabilities in children and reproductive problems in women.
Minnesota and Connecticut, Chicago and four counties in New York have banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. Maryland is among 20 states that are considering legislation, according to the consumer group Maryland PIRG.
Del. James W. Hubbard, a Democrat from Prince George's County, has pushed BPA legislation in the state for years. On Friday, the House of Delegates passed a bill he sponsored by a vote of 137-0 that would prohibit manufacture, sale or distribution of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups intended for children younger than 4. The Senate recently held a hearing and might vote as soon as today on the bill, which would take effect in 2012.
The FDA said the chemical, used for more than four decades in hard plastic food containers and the lining of metal food and soda cans, may be passed into food and beverages, and the agency expressed "concern" about its safety.
It was a reversal of a position taken in 2008, when the FDA said toxicology research showed BPA was safe.
In response, the Interagency Task Force on Children's Environmental Health was created to coordinate more research. The National Institutes of Health was given $30 million to foster research, and results are expected in 18 months to two years.