Health-conscious parents of babies and young children may be able to cross one product off their no-buy list, depending on the governor’s stroke of a pen. Baby bottles and sippy cups containing the chemical Bisphenol-A, or BPA, could be off Minnesota store shelves within two years.
HF326/SF247*, sponsored by Rep. Karen Clark (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. Sandy Rummel (DFL-White Bear Lake), would ban Minnesota manufacturers from selling cups and bottles intended for use by children age 3 or younger that contain BPA after Jan. 1, 2010, and retailers from selling them after Jan. 1, 2011. The House passed the bill 126-5 May 5. The Senate approved it 53-8 on April 30. It awaits action by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Clark said the bill is “narrowed and focused” from its original form that would have banned the chemical more broadly in other products intended for or used by children. She credited Rep. Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) with helping to garner bipartisan support. He, in turn, thanked Clark for listening to “peer-tested, peer-reviewed” research in honing the bill’s scope.
Lindsay Dahl, policy and media coordinator with the Healthy Legacy Program of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, said in committee that numerous research studies have found BPA to be a carcinogen and endocrine disruptor. The chemical is widely used in consumer products such as eyeglasses, sports helmets, electronic toys and lining for beverage or liquid cans. Its use in baby products is banned in Canada, and 14 other states are looking at banning it.