Legislation

What is being done to protect people from phthalates and BPA on the national level?
In August 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act  permanently banned the manufacture and sale of children’s toys and products containing more than 0.1% of three phthalates (DEHP, DBP, and BBP) and put a temporary ban on children’s toys and products containing three more phthalates (DINP, DIDP, DnOP). The temporary ban is to last until further research is done on the phthalates.

As far as BPA legislation at the federal level, Democratic Massachusetts Representativ Edward Markey introduced a bill on January 25, 2011 that would ban BPA from all food and drink containers including cans. Trade groups such as the American Chemical Council have fought and are fighting against such legislation, saying that it is unnecessary.

A bill titled “The Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009” was referred to the House Committee in December 2009, but never reached the House or the Senate. This bill called for more research on and education about the general category of endocrine disruptors through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

In April 2011, Democratic New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 with the aim of overhauling the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act which hasn’t been updated since 1976. The bill would give the EPA the power to demand information on every chemical that companies use in their products, and would require the EPA to evaluate the risk of these chemicals and impose conditions to limit the usage of harmful chemicals. In addition, the bill calls for broader public, market, and employee access of information on chemicals used in products. Find out more about this legislation at www.saferchemicals.org.

What about at the state and local levels?
Legislation against BPA has been more successful at the state and local levels. Suffolk County, NY was the first to ban BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups in March 2009. Since then, states that have banned BPA usage in certain products (mostly baby bottles and baby products) include: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. At least 17 other states and the District of Columbia are working on legislation to ban BPA use in various items.

How does US legislation match up to legislation in Europe?
The European Union (EU) passed a law that banned the use of more than 0.1% of six phthalates in children’s toys and products (the same as in the US). However, the EU’s ban has been in place since 2005! In March 2011, the EU also banned the use of BPA in baby bottles. The reason why legislation in the EU is so much quicker and more efficient is because the EU bans chemicals based on the precautionary principle. This principle requires officials to ban chemicals that have a chance of causing bodily harm, even if the chemical has not been explicitly proven to cause harm. In the US, officials generally wait until the chemical has been proven beyond a doubt to be dangerous. In the meantime, thousands and tens of thousands of citizens are being exposed to these potentially dangerous chemicals.

What’s stopping legislation in the US?
Corporate lobbying is currently one of the largest hurdles to  BPA and phthalate legislation today. Some may ask, “If there’s even a chance that BPA and phthalates are so dangerous, why are they still freely used today?” The answer is that they’re cheap and they’re already there. Because corporations are always seeking to cut costs in order to maximize shareholder benefit, they are willing to use products that are possibly unsafe as long as they’re cheap. Also, the corporate factories are already using BPA, phthalates, etc., and it costs money for companies to change their manufacturing processes to eliminate harmful chemicals. Therefore, in part because shareholder benefit not consumer safety is the bottom line for corporations, companies and trade organizations (like the American Chemistry Council) are willing to spend millions of dollars on lobbying efforts to stop the banning of these cheap possibly hazardous materials. Find out more about why shareholder benefit is the corporations’ bottom line and how this affects society here.

What can I do to further BPA and phthalates legislation in the US?
Write to your senators, representatives, Congress, and President and show them that the citizens whom they are supposed to be protecting are seriously concerned about these issues. The Endocrine Disruptor Exchange website, which supports the Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009, has a great site which shows you how and what to write to your government officials (they even have sample letters that you can use for reference).

VOTE! You have a choice in who represents you. Make sure its someone who cares about the same issues that you do.