Lawmakers Renew Calls to Ban BPA

Meg Kissinger writes that, on Nov, 17, federal legislators said that they "would work to ban bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers after a Journal Sentinel analysis found that even plastic products billed as 'microwave safe' released toxic doses of the chemical when heated." According to Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), "he will re-introduce a bill in Congress in January to ban BPA from food and beverage containers." After reading the Journal Sentinel report, "Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he, too, would renew his fight to have BPA removed from all children's products." Bisphenol A is "used to make baby bottles and the lining of metal food cans, including those containing infant formula." Studies have tied the chemical "to reproductive failures, breast cancer risk, diabetes, and heart disease."