skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Message in the Bottle: MN Law Successfully Clears Store Shelves of BPA

play audio
Play

Monday, May 16, 2011   

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Parents in Minnesota can rest a little easier now, according to a new report from the Healthy Legacy coalition, co-founded by the Institute on Agriculture and Trade Policy. "Message in a Bottle" shows that states that regulate bisphenol a (BPA) have been effective at clearing retail stores of baby bottles, sippy cups and breast-milk storage products that carry the hormone-disrupting chemical.

A large body of science shows BPA's negative impact on health, according to Kathleen Schuler, the report author and co-director of the coalition.

"It's linked to developmental problems, reproductive problems, cancer, obesity, diabetes and liver abnormalities. These are all things that can be caused by insidious, early-life exposures to BPA."

It is particularly important to have baby products BPA-free, Schuler explains, because the chemical leeches out of polycarbonate plastic when it is heated, significantly increasing the risk of exposure. While banning the chemical from baby products is a good first step, she warns that exposure from other products is still a risk.

"Only two states regulate BPA in formula-can linings, so that's still a concern. Also, BPA is used in the majority of food-can linings, which exposes both adults and young children."

Schuler adds that even thermal credit card receipts now carry BPA, so it's a good idea not to allow children to handle them.

While regulations controlling chemicals like BPA are critical, it's smarter and more cost-effective to take preventive measures by reforming federal law, like the Toxic Substances Control Act, Schuler says.

"The federal laws that regulate industrial chemicals fail to protect us from chemicals like BPA. They don't require comprehensive safety testing, so chemicals like BPA can continue to get into consumer products. Then we have to solve the problem afterward, instead of preventing it up front."

Minnesota was the first state in the nation to ban BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups. Seven other states and the city of Chicago soon followed suit. Until BPA is regulated nationwide, however, Schuler advises parents when traveling to look for products marked "BPA free" and to be careful not to pick up older stock that may be shelved next to newer, safer products.

The full report is available at http://healthylegacy.org/resources.cfm?refid=108015.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021