Three Democrats and all the Republican members of the Oregon Senate combined forces today to block a bill designed to protect young children from exposure to bisphenol A (BPA).
The vote on SB 1032 was 15-15.
The bill was one of the top goals of the special session for the environmental movement in Oregon. We are waiting for a statement from the Oregon Environmental Council, which worked hard in favor of the bill.
The three Democrats who voted “no” are Besty Johnson of Scapoose, Martha Schrader of Canby and Joanne Verger of North Bend.
SB 1032 would have banned the manufacture and sale of plastic baby bottles and cups if they contained BPA. It had been weakened considerably from the original version, which also called for banning BPA lined glass and metal containers, and the sale of food or drinks that were stored in containers made with BPA. All these restrictions were aimed at protecting children under the age of three.
BPA has been used to line the interior of hard plastic bottles and cans that store food and drinks since the 1960s. Concerns about the health impacts of BPA took on new importance in early January. The FDA issued a statement saying that because of new research, it has “some concern” about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children – even at current low levels.
[...] Senators this week have voted down regulations that could have led consumers to less safe, glass baby bottles. Three Democrats in the [...]
[...] the vote yesterday, the bill failed to pass the Senate, with a 15-15 vote. Despite increasing evidence of the harmful effects of BPA, three democrats crossed the aisle to [...]
BPA has a 50-year record of safe use and has been extensively studied by governments and research organizations worldwide.
Scientific panels such as the European Union Risk Assessment, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Health Canada, the Food and Drug Administration and others around the world have not reported any serious concerns about BPA. The science simply does not warrant regulations on BPA.
Cascade Policy Institute recently released a report detailing the science and facts behind BPA.
The full report is available here: http://cascadepolicy.org/pdf/FullreportBPA-012710a.pdf
A summary is available here: http://www.cascadepolicy.org/2010/01/27/the-nanny-state-attack-on-bpa-oregon-and-beyond/#more-3515