Washington, DC-- U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), along with Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), today announced that they have introduced legislation banning a potentially hazardous chemical, known as bisphenol-A (BPA), in all children’s products. The legislation will also mandate that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conduct a comprehensive study of the health effects of BPA in children and adults. Earlier this month a U.S. government study revealed that bisphenol-A, a chemical used to make plastics clear and shatter-resistant, could pose major health risks. Canada has identified the chemical, which is present in water bottles and infant formula bottles, as one that could affect reproduction, and neural development during early life exposure. Major U.S. retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toys'R'Us are already pulling baby bottles containing bisphenol-A from their shelves, and the popular bottle-maker Nalgene said it will discontinue production of its line of bottles that rely on the substance and recall BPA-affected products already in stores.

“When a fire starts to burn, you don’t wait for it to engulf the house before you sound the alarm. There have been enough warning signs about the dangers of this chemical that we cannot sit idly by and continue to allow vulnerable children and infants to be exposed,” Senator Schumer said. “Many manufacturers and retailers are already taking the appropriate steps to get these products off the shelves, and now we want to make sure that everyone takes the same responsible steps.”

“Evidence is mounting that exposure to this chemical is dangerous for children as they grow and develop.” Senator Feinstein said. “We cannot let the health of our children hang in the balance while we wait for more studies, which could take several years. The time has come to take action to keep our kids safe. So I believe that we should ban this chemical in all children’s products.”

“The discovery of this potentially toxic chemical in plastic baby bottles is the latest in a series of troubling reports for parents concerned about their children’s health and safety. Whether it is keeping lead out of toys or BPA in plastic, we need to do all we can to protect our children and ensure public safety. This legislation takes an important step toward providing worried parents with the assurance they deserve that products marketed for use by children are safe,” Senator Clinton said.

“American consumers are on a heightened state of alert for dangerous products after last year’s experience,” Senator Durbin said. “Recent scientific findings that harmful toxins can leach from plastic bottles, especially those used by children, should alarm all of us. Congress must do more. Passing a ban on these chemicals in children's products is critical to protecting the most vulnerable.”

“As the evidence mounts about BPA’s health risks, the first thing we should do is take this chemical out of children’s products,” Senator Kerry said. “Parents should be able to give their kids a drink without wondering whether the baby bottle or sippee cup will make their child sick.”

Senator Menendez said, “If there’s even a small concern that a product may lead to cancer or other health disorders, you can bet parents are going to keep their babies away from it. Right now, there’s more than a just a small concern – there’s mounting evidence about the dangers of everyday plastics containing BPA, and it seems best to keep them away from our children.”

The federal government released a draft report last week that found that BPA is potentially dangerous to human development and reproduction. The finding by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, calls into question previous analyses of the FDA that found minimal concern related to BPA. Since the release of the NTP report, the FDA has convened a Task Force to reexamine the research on this issue.

BPA is used to make plastics clear and shatter-resistant, and is commonly found in water bottles, food containers, baby bottles, some dental fillings and the coatings for the inside of cans containing foods. While BPA has earned approval by the FDA for what are called “food contact” consumer products, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research has shown that 95% of tested Americans have BPA levels at or above those found to cause abnormalities in animals. Bisphenol-A has been known to mimic the hormone estrogen and recent studies have raised concerns about the hormonal impact the chemical can have on the prostate gland, mammary gland, and reproductive development of fetuses, infants, and children.

Since 1997, over 100 published studies have documented adverse effects in animals caused by exposure to low levels of BPA. Lab animals exposed to BPA have been found to be more likely to have miscarriages, prostate problems and cancers. Studies also link BPA to obesity, infertility and behavioral changes in test animals. A government panel that reviewed the safety of BPA was found to rely on studies that found no harm that were largely paid for by the chemical industry.

Hundreds of BPA products have been banned in countries around the world but are available to U.S. consumers without any warnings. In the past two years, legislators in several states have introduced bills that would restrict local sale of infants' and children's products containing BPA, including California.

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