Overview
When it comes to product safety, our kids deserve extra protection. Unfortunately, we expose our kids to a cocktail of toxic chemicals via products that they use on a daily basis. Over the few years, this problem has been magnified by the massive toy recalls of 2007 and 2008. Millions of toys containing lead, a highly toxic element, have been pulled from store shelves due to the risk they pose to children. While Washington state and Congress acted last year on toxins like lead and phthalates, countless other dangerous chemicals remain are hiding in products on store shelves. Some of those chemicals make their way into our kids toys, sippy cups, and other products.
The chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is a good example of commonly used chemicals known or suspected to pose serious health risks. BPA, which is used to make polycarbonate plastic and various epoxy resins, is a hormone disrupting chemical, and can have health effects at extremely low exposure levels. Potential health effects include cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, reproductive failures and hyperactivity. Nearly 93 percent of Americans tested by the Center for Disease Control were found to have BPA in their bodies. Shockingly, of those tested children had the highest levels of BPA in their bodies.
Studies have found that BPA leaches out of food containers into our food and beverages. BPA is used in a variety of manufacturing processes, including the production of polycarbonate plastics and various epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are commonly used in baby bottles, sippy cups, and sports water bottles. BPA laced epoxy resins are often found in food cans, including cans used for products like infant formula.
Many companies have seen the writing on the wall. In the wake of several groundbreaking studies released last year and Canada’s ban on BPA laden baby bottles, some manufacturers and retailers have begun the switch to safer products. Companies like Gerber, Evenflo, and Playtex have begun producing safer, BPA-free alternatives to polycarbonate bottles and sippy cups made from materials like polypropylene, polyethylene, and glass. Scores of other important children’s products, including breast pumps and baby bottle nipples, are made BPA free and are available now. These products will become more readily available as large retailers like Wal-Mart and Toys R’ Us fulfill promises made last year and phase out BPA.
Unfortunately, countless products still contain this dangerous chemical and the use of toxic chemicals in consumer products is virtually unregulated. The Food and Drug Administration, which previously declared BPA a safe chemical, recently changed its position and is recommending that BPA be removed from products intended for children. Still, there is almost no state or federal oversight of commonly used toxic chemicals in most consumer products in the United States, even those meant for children. There are no requirements for companies to tell consumers what’s in their products. And even the weak federal system that does exist is underfunded and inadequate. Chemicals aren’t tested for safety before they go into products and even when dangerous chemicals are found in people and the environment, they aren’t banned from use. Because the federal government is slow to act, WashPIRG is asking the state legislature to lead the way once more. We’re working to pass the Safe Baby Bottle Act in 2010, which will ban BPA in containers intended for kids and sports water bottles. Later this year we’ll be working on more comprehensive federal legislation that changes the way we handle chemicals in consumer products.
