If you're tired of waiting for the federal government to stop dancing around the problems associated with bisphenol A (BPA)--the controversial chemical widely used in consumer products--then this may be your lucky day.
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will add BPA to its list of chemicals of concern and will start investigating the environmental impacts of BPA, including its effects on the U.S. water supply (surface water, ground water, and drinking water). The BPA action plan that the EPA outlined today is part of the agency's effort to strengthen its chemical management program. The plan also includes:
- Requiring manufacturers to provide BPA test data to assist the agency in evaluating the chemical's possible impacts, including long-term effects on growth, reproduction, and development in aquatic organisms and wildlife.
- Using EPA's Design for the Environment program to look for ways to reduce unnecessary exposures, which includes assessing the BPA substitutes some manufacturers are now using, while additional studies continue.
- Continuing to evaluate the potential disproportionate impact on children and other sub-populations through exposure from sources other than food packaging.
BPA is an industrial chemical that hardens plastics and is used in common household and consumer products such as baby bottles, the lining of food and beverage cans, and CDs. BPA also mimics estrogen, a natural hormone, and acts as an endocrine disruptor in the body. Numerous human and animal studies have raised concerns about the potential health effects of BPA, which include a higher incidence of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities in adults as well as brain and hormone development problems in fetuses and young children. In the United States, more than a million pounds of BPA are released into the environment annually, according to the EPA.
The FDA has regulatory authority over the ingredients in food and drugs, as well as their packaging, while the EPA has the authority to restrict the use of chemicals that pose risks to the environment and public health. Yet, regulators at the FDA have been dragging their feet on taking any kind of definitive action on BPA, despite growing concerns about the potential health effects of the chemical.
In January 2010, the FDA reversed its 2008 position that BPA was safe for all uses and finally expressed "some concern" about the potential health effects of BPA on fetuses and young children. But while the FDA continues to gather data and ponder its position, the EPA has decided to focus its own regulatory authority on the controversial chemical.
"We share FDA's concern about the potential health impacts from BPA," said Steve Owens, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. "Both EPA and FDA, and many other agencies are moving forward to fully assess the environmental and health impacts to ensure that the full range of BPA's possible impacts are examined."
The EPA is working closely with FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences on research to better assess and evaluate the potential health consequences of BPA exposures, including those that fall outside FDA authority. Based on what this new research shows, EPA will consider possible regulatory actions to address health impacts from these exposures.
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