Canada to label BPA "toxic"; U.S. government finally acknowledges cancer risk

The New York Times is reporting that Canada is about to declare BPA a toxin. The findings come from the Canadian government and a panel of outside scientists. When this designation is released, it should spell the end for consumer food and drink products containing the toxin--most importantly, baby bottles.

What I'm hearing is that large Canadian retailers are proactively yanking BPA-containing products off their shelves in anticipation of this finding. Keep in mind that the Canadian government isn't necessarily banning these products yet; it is just labeling BPA a "toxin", then opening up the conversation to the public and industry before taking any action in terms of a ban. But retailers are taking it upon themselves to get rid of these products before then, and I think that is a smart business move and a socially responsible one to boot.

Check out the Times article on Canada declaring BPA a toxin.

Incidentally, kudos to the New York Times for noting that a professor they quoted in the story downplaying the harmful effects of BPA was referred to the reporter by the Canadian plastics association. For those of you who are going to read wire and newspaper articles on this story, note these names "Canadian Plastics Assocation" and "American Chemistry Council": representatives will be interviewed in these stories. Know that they are front groups--the American Chemistry Council is perhaps the most pernicious front group in the country.

In this country, the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program is finally acknowledging that there is, in fact, some concern about BPA in consumer products--specifically that there may be a connection between BPA ingestion and cancer. This comes after another governmental study that claimed no concern about BPA; the study was later canned because the firm hired to analyze the data worked for the chemical industry.

This is a turning point. The sluggish federal behemoth is finally stirring and blinking into the sunlight. A ban is probably a pipe dream, but this acknowledgment is a huge step forward. In the meantime, state and local governments need to regulate the chemical to protect their citizens. California is already set to ban BPA; New Jersey will likely follow. That's why I urge you to write letters to your local representatives, the ones who legislate for your state. Now is the time.

For anyone interested in reading other posts on BPA (I've been writing about BPA for nearly two years on this site), click on the tag "BPA". Click here for the Washington Post article on BPA and the National Toxicology Program's findings.