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Friday, January 25, 2008

House Members Begin Investigation of Plastics Chemical

Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began an investigation into the use and federal regulation of bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical commonly found in a host of consumer products including CDs and baby bottles.

Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) wrote to seven manufacturers of infant products inquiring as to the chemical's use:

We have learned that BPA may be contained in the material used to line cans that contain infant formula and that BPA from this lining may leach into the formula itself, thereby exposing babies to BPA. We are interested to know how often BPA is used in such lining, whether the companies that produce the infant formula are aware that BPA is being used in this manner, and if they have tested their product for the presence of BPA.

The committee members also wrote to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach asking about FDA's recent determination that BPA is not currently a safety concern and, therefore, not worth regulating:

On what studies is FDA basing the claim that there is no "safety concern at the current exposure level"? If FDA is relying on published studies, please provide us with the scientific citations from any studies used by FDA in making this determination.

The committee's oversight is welcome in light of recent evidence that another BPA study — this one conducted by the National Toxicology Program — gave improper weight to scientific studies sponsored by chemical makers. The study called the chemical's risks "negligible" — a conclusion which could undermine the argument in favor of BPA regulation. The National Toxicology Program has since announced it will conduct a thorough review of the study.