What do Chinese factory workers have to do with babies and toddlers in Wisconsin? More than you might think.

This month, the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health released the results of a five-year study on more than 600 Chinese workers who manufacture the chemical bisphenol-A, known as BPA, which is used to harden plastics. The study showed that the workers suffered reproductive health problems at a rate of several hundred percent more than a control group of those did not work with BPA.

The report was just the latest in a long series of studies documenting the health risks for humans of exposure to BPA. In our bodies, BPA disrupts the endocrine system by mimicking the hormone estrogen. Hundreds of scientific studies have demonstrated that BPA is harmful, linking it to breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm counts, miscarriage and a host of other reproductive failures in laboratory animals. Researchers have also shown that the BPA used in plastic containers leaches into the foods and beverages we consume.

That’s where kids come in. Scientists worry that BPA can have its most negative and lasting effect on very young children at a time at which their brains and bodies are still developing. Unfortunately, that’s also the time when children are drinking from hardened plastic containers such as baby bottles and sippy cups.

That is why we introduced the BPA-Free Kids Act, a bill that would protect children 5 years old and younger from exposure to this toxic chemical. The BPA-Free Kids Act would prohibit the manufacture or sale at the wholesale or retail level of children’s bottles or cups that contain BPA and would require that manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers clearly label children’s bottles and cups as BPA free. The legislation would provide the same penalties for manufacturers and wholesalers as those in Wisconsin’s Hazardous Substances Act, and would allow a surcharge from the fines to be used for the administration of the program.

Canada, Minnesota, Connecticut, Chicago, and New York’s Suffolk County have similar bans in effect. Eleven other states are considering bans, and a federal proposal that would ban BPA in all food products has been introduced in the U.S. Congress. Several manufacturers have announced plans to stop using the chemical, and many retailers have pulled products containing BPA from their shelves. Safe substitutes for BPA exist; in fact, Japan has been manufacturing plastics without BPA for a decade.

Why must we act at the state level? Unfortunately, the federal government’s history of inaction on BPA offers no assurance that strong action is forthcoming from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Despite overwhelming evidence, the FDA ruled in September 2008 that BPA is safe. Scientific uproar over the ruling caused the FDA to establish an advisory committee to review the process. Last October, the FDA’s Advisory Committee found that its scientists had relied on studies sponsored by the American Plastics Council while ignoring independent scientific studies that showed the chemical caused harm, and recommended that the agency reopen its review.

A recent Consumer Reports article recommends that manufacturers and government agencies act to eliminate the use of BPA.

Simply put, there’s just no reason to put this toxin in the bottles and cups our kids drink from. The BPA-Free Kids act would help us protect Wisconsin’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens from damage that may last a lifetime.

This column was submitted by state Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point; state Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison; and WISPIRG Director Bruce Speight, Madison.

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