One day our children will look back and wonder why we willingly risked our health by exposing ourselves to harmful chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in thousands of consumer products. Unfortunately, chemical industry lobbyists wish to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. Just as the tobacco industry once told us it was safe to smoke cigarettes, the chemical industry is trying to tell us it's OK to ingest harmful chemicals. It's not OK.
For the past seven months, I worked to craft a compromise amendment for the Food Safety Modernization Act that would ban BPA from infant formula and baby bottles. And on Tuesday night, Senator Enzi and I reached an agreement on BPA. After a lot of hard work, we had a bipartisan agreement.
Bisphenol A (BPA), a man-made chemical, is used in thousands of consumer products from plastic, tin cans and CDs to receipt paper, shatter-resistant water bottles and baby bottles.
BPA is an endocrine disruptor, meaning that it can interfere with how hormones work in our bodies by changing their normal function. The evidence linking BPA to serious health problems is mounting. Over 200 studies link BPA exposure to breast and other cancers, reproductive disorders, cardiac disease, diabetes, early puberty and more.
I planned to introduce an amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act that would ban the use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. It was a simple baby step to begin combating this problem. Seven states and Canada have labeled BPA a toxic threat and have passed laws phasing out or banning BPA in specific products that would allow exposure of our most vulnerable population: infants and children.
Moms, dads, grandparents and other consumers and voters all over the country have written to me asking for BPA to be removed from their products. I worked hard negotiating an agreement. Yet every time we made a concession, the goal posts moved farther away.
The very same lobbying group that opposed legislation banning phthalates from children's toys made a last-minute push to scuttle the chances for a reasonable compromise, and Republicans bowed to pressure from the chemical industry. It is regretful that lobbyists for the American Chemistry Council, spending millions of dollars, lined up against a reasonable compromise. And it's maddening that BPA-laden baby bottles will remain on the shelves as a "safe" product.
I'm not going to give up, and neither should consumers. Just because chemical industry lobbyists blocked a vote on BPA doesn't mean you can't vote with your wallet every time you purchase a product. The chemical industry doesn't want you to know about companies that are already phasing out BPA or are searching for alternatives. But those companies are out there and deserve our support.
Sunoco, a company that makes BPA, has said it would refuse to sell the chemical without a guarantee that it would not be used in children's products. Eden Valley Organics now sells beans in BPA-free cans, and Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us will no longer sell baby bottles containing the compound.
U.S. manufacturers that no longer use BPA in baby bottles include Playtex, Gerber, Evenflow, Avent America, Dr. Brown's, and Disney First Years. For adults, you'll be glad to know that Nalgene water bottles are BPA-free. For more information on how to find BPA-free products, visit EWG.org/Bisphenol-a-info.
We should not use our kids as guinea pigs by taking chances on a chemical that can seriously harm their immediate and long-term health. No chemical should be used in food products until it is proven to be safe. I will continue the fight to ban BPA-laden products by introducing new legislation next year.
I hope consumers continue to vote with their pocketbooks and support BPA-free products. Working together, we can make sure that -- one way or another -- these chemical companies are forced to do the right thing and take BPA out of baby products.
VACCINES!!!
When will our politicians stand up for even their own kids?
And it's the same with baby food. They don't need that either. Give them regular food when they're old enough to handle it, like banana after 6 months and other soft foods that adults would eat and keep on nursing. Why use baby food? It's a lot cheaper, too.
We've commercialized everything in this country, even how we feed our babies. And now this with the chemicals in the bottles. Great.
Determined mothers have nursed adopted babies. You would be amazed at what determination and knowledge of proper positioning and management can do to enable successful breastfeeding. La Leche League is a breastfeeding support group that can take the place of the tribal mothers we don't have in this society and can help almost anyone to be successful.
So, if your dentist talked you into taking out the dangerous mercury containing fillings and replacing them with composites, you can thank him/her every time you swallow.
As Del Close once said, "life's not without it's hazards man"
This is why we have governmental institutions like the FDA - I don't have the resources to research potentially hazardous chemicals and check if they're in my household products. Without agencies like the FDA, companies don't even provide that information on the labeling. Placing the responsibility on individuals to police their own food and product supply (which is what conservatives do when they cry foul over the "nanny state") is nonsensical.
Who needs GubMint regulations?
Only by regulating toxic chemicals will we be able to reduce the incidence of man ycancers. Breast Cancer for one is linked to chemical exposures. http://huff.to/9fbBxW
What to do now is important for survival of developed species. We are talking about our biosphere's survival. Banning all production of polycarbonate is the only ethical, moral or economic decision. Tomorrow is too late. Sen. Reid should haul our public servants into session which would continue 24 hours a day until at least our country stops poisoning the world.
Distilling the oceans will be the only way to get this crud out of our food chain (also everything else in the ocean.) Landfills will need to be mined for these disaster molecules to prevent further groundwater contamination. Recycling this dangerous material is unethical. Even 99.9 percent recycle efficiencies guarantees unacceptable poisoning of our water.
We need to get to work and lead the world in something besides weapons. Your child's liver cancer, his fertility and his food supply will depend on what we do now.
They don't get to vote on it in Congress, do they?
By threatening to pull money or support from a party, offer money or support to vote against bills, or threatening to support a rival candidate in upcoming elections.