Yesterday I posted at Eco-Child's Play about how Dawn Soap is greenwashing us into thinking they are protecting wildlife when in fact quite the opposite is true.
And in a follow up to California's recent decision not to ban BPA, the Environmental Working Group sheds some light on the subject. Turns out, surprise, surprise, that big industry had something to do with it.
Here's a recent press release on the subject from the Environmental Working Group:
"Shady Chemical Industry Campaign Kills Calif. Ban on BPA in Baby Bottles
SACRAMENTO, Aug. 29 Bowing to a deceptive, no-holds-barred campaign by the chemical industry, the California State Assembly has failed to approve a bill that would have made the state the first in the nation to remove the toxic endocrine disruptor BPA from baby bottles and children's drinking cups.
By a 35-30 vote on Friday, the last day of the two-year legislative session, Assembly members rejected Senate Bill 1713 by Sen. Carole Migden of San Francisco, which was sponsored by Environmental Working Group (EWG). Fifteen members of the Assembly were either absent or deliberately did not vote.
California parents should be outraged at any politician in Sacramento who chose chemical industry profits over the health of Californians, said EWG President Ken Cook. We're going to do everything we can to let their constituents know who stood up to protect infants and toddlers and who did the business of the chemical lobby.
The American Chemistry Council and other chemical lobby groups waged a campaign against SB 1713 that included deceptive direct mail, print and online ads, and phone calls claiming that the measure would affect all canned foods, whose containers are lined with a resin made from BPA. The industry also deployed an army of lobbyists, who bombarded legislators with claims that restrictions on BPA would increase the cost of food for low-income families and even deplete the shelves of community food banks.
In April the National Institutes of Health determined that BPA may pose risks to
human development, raising concerns for early puberty, prostate problems, breast
cancer, and behavioral impacts from early-life exposures. Pregnant women,
infants and young children are most vulnerable to the harmful effects of BPA.
The Canadian government, earlier this year, announced plans to ban BPA from a
number of consumer products, and the world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, as
well as Toys-R-Us are among a growing list of companies taking action to remove
products that contain BPA.
Any chemical that may cause cancer, brain development problems and hormone
disruption in animals shouldn't be an ingredient in a baby's' bottle, said EWG Senior Analyst Renee Sharp. The ability of the chemical lobby to flex its political muscles
to defeat a common-sense health measure is another reason we need to make sure
chemicals are safe for kids before they're allowed on the market.
Legislation introduced earlier this year in the House and Senate "the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act" would force the chemical industry to first prove their products are safe before allowed to be used in consumer products. "
Grrrrr- maybe next time. Did anyone hear the news report today on NPR about BPA? I missed it but hope to stream it later. This issue isn't going away until the chemical is out of products our children use everyday.
In the good news department, California did ban Teflon from food packaging. Read this to learn why this is a very good idea. It remains to be seen if Governor Schwarzenegger will sign it.
