Tell Congress: No BPA in Food & Beverage Containers

Today, I received the letter below from Clean Water Action.  Please consider sending a message to your Representatives and Senators in favor of the new BPA ban – you can easily do so by clicking here.  To summarize, BPA can be found in re-useable water bottles, the lining of your soup or soda cans, baby bottles, sippy cups, and other polycarbonate plastic products. It has been shown to leach from containers directly into food and beverages, especially when heated. Exposure to BPA  has been linked to to heart disease, breast and testicular cancers, reproductive problems, and other diseases reaching epidemic proportions in the United States.

Federal legislation has been introduced in Congress that would ban the toxic chemical BPA from food and beverage containers.

BPA, first developed as a synthetic sex hormone, can be found in re-useable water bottles, the lining of your soup or soda cans, baby bottles, sippy cups, and other polycarbonate plastic products. It has been shown to leach from containers directly into food and beverages, especially when heated. Why is this a problem?

More than 200 studies have found that low dose exposures to BPA are linked to heart disease, breast and testicular cancers, reproductive problems, and other diseases reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted research that revealed detectable levels of BPA in the bodies of 93% of Americans.

And how is the industry responding? An internal memo leaked to The Washington Post last week describes their strategy of attempting to block progress through a range of PR ploys including an ad campaign starring a pregnant mom actress discussing BPA benefits.

This despite mounting research showing that extremely low levels of BPA can harm health, particularly during early infancy. And despite the availability of safer alternatives, such as stainless steel, glass, and other containers that don’t leach hazardous chemicals.

Urge your Representative and your Senators to support the Poisonous Additives Act (HR 1523/S 593) co-sponsored by Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California).