The US authorities must act decisively to address the risk to human healthy by bisphenol A, according to a new report from the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR)
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an industrial chemical found in everything from baby bottles through canned food and beverages to kitchen appliances and cash register receipts, and has become a fundamental building block of the plastics industry.
According to the paper, Protecting the Public from BPA: An Action Plan for Federal Agencies, evidence of the chemical’s toxicological risks has continued to mount since the 1980s. The chemical is said to be an endocrine disruptor, meaning that it interferes with the body’s hormone system.
BPA’s health risks include increased susceptibility to prostate and breast cancers, reproductive system defects and abnormalities, hormonal imbalances, brain development abnormalities, gender confusion, heart disease and diabetes.
Particularly alarming, says the CPR, is the evidence that the populations most in danger of suffering from BPA’s health risks are foetuses, infants, and children.
The CPR says that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are the federal agencies best situated to tackle BPA risk assessment and risk management, and that they should do so as a matter of urgency.
“We know this chemical is entering our bodies and disrupting our endocrine systems, but the federal government hasn’t shown enough urgency in dealing with it,” said Noah Sachs, associate professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.
A two-phase approach
The white paper urges a two-phase approach to BPA regulation. The first phase should produce immediate information collection and dissemination, including early warnings for the public and stricter guidance for industry.
The second phase should include long-term regulatory controls, standards, and protections, to be promulgated as soon as missing information becomes available.
