Chicago City Council Urges FDA to Ban BPA

By Samantha Battle
Columbia College Student

Chicago City Council passed a resolution on Wednesday urging the Food and Drug Administration to ban Bisphenol A, a potentially toxic chemical that is found in some plastic. If action has not taken place, the city council will have to take matters into their own hands by April 30th.

Alderman Manuel Flores and Edward M. Burke presented to the city council with a summary of possible effects of Bisphenol A, also called BPA, which is generally used in making baby bottles and other baby products, water bottles and plastic containers.

BPA has been linked to serious health problems including prostate and breast cancer and neurological disorders in laboratory tests. The risk of these diseases and other chronic illnesses from the exposure are higher for children, Flores said.

"Expert witnesses testified in support of the ordinance, Flores wrote on his Facebook page.
"Professor Gail Prins from UIC has studied the chemical extensively and greatly encouraged passage of the ordinance in order to protect the children of Chicago."

This issue has brought up many concerns with Chicago citizens. Mothers in particular are taking notice in this issue because their young children at risk.

"I am terrified by this because my son is 2 years old and occasionally still drinks from a bottle and let alone his training plastic cup also, and to think that he is exposed to this chemical is terrifying," said Marri Hart, a mother and customer service representative at AT&T.

This issue is personal for Flores also because he has a 2-year-old son.

"I have a 2-year-old son that may be exposed to this," he said. "What type of price tag are we putting on people’s lives."

A FDA statement released on Feb. 9 on the FDA Website states that "Health Canada’s Health Products and Food Branch has concluded that current dietary exposure to BPA through food packaging uses is not expected to pose a health risk to the general population, including newborns and infants. However, using a precautionary approach, the Government of Canada has taken steps to reduce exposure to BPA for infants and young children."

Flores would like Chicago to pursue Canada’s lead in becoming the first city to ban BPA in children’s products.

"I hope that other cities will follow Chicago’s lead," Flores said.

The American Plastic Council is aware of this resolution set by the Chicago City Council, but won’t change their practices until the federal guidelines change, said Abigail Towne, the AP Executive Director of the American Plastic Council.

"We believe there is no danger posed by the use of BPA in plastics used by people of any age," Towne said. "Every plastics manufacturer that is part of our organization follows federal guidelines when producing all its products. The FDA has not taken action against BPA, and therefore plastic manufacturers are breaking no laws by using it in their products as they chose."






Sources

Manuel Flores
Alderman
Chicago, Illinois
In person interview