NCC lauds Canada for declaring BPA toxic

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

NCC lauds Canada for declaring BPA a toxic substance
and calls on Congress to help the USA follow suit

See: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/101020BPA.html

Washington, October 20, 2010 - The National Council of Churches today 
appla uded Canada's decision to declare Bisphenol A (BPA) to be a 
toxic substance , and called on the United States to follow suit. 

"The United States can and should be a global leader to protect 
public heal th," said Chloe Schwabe, NCC Eco-Justice program manager 
for environmental  health.

"Protecting all children of God and the whole of Creation are moral 
imperat ives. It is high time that our government acts with 
conscience to protect  all of God's children and Creation from the 
known and potential long term  health effects of BPA" Schwabe said. 

Studies have found that BPA can interfere with infant and child 
development  and may be a factor leading to breast and prostate 
cancer.  

Canada, Denmark, France, and seven U.S. states have taken steps to 
ban BPA  in baby bottles and sippy cups, and in some cases infant 
formula cans.  
State ecumenical and interfaith organizations participated in efforts 
to pe rsuade states to take this step. Canada is the first country to 
declare BPA  toxic.
 
The European Union indicated this week that they will likely take 
action to  address BPA as well. The NCC's Eco-Justice program has 
called upon the U.S . Congress to give the Federal Drug 
Administration (FDA) the authority to q uickly regulate BPA and other 
chemicals in other food and beverage packagin g to ensure their 
safety. 

BPA is widely used in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins such as 
water  bottles, baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula containers, 
and food can s.

The major manufacturers of baby bottles and sippy cups all offer 
BPA-free a lternatives. Nestlé, Gerber and Similac are also packaging 
most of their  infant formula in BPA free materials. Eden Foods 
offers a BPA-free can fo r all of their products except tomatoes. 
Muir Glen announced this summer th at they will be canning their next 
harvest of tomatoes in BPA-free cans. 

Researchers have known for decades that BPA is estrogenic. Research 
in the  last two decades has found that it may contribute to early 
puberty in girls , prostate and breast cancer, obesity, 
cardiovascular disease, and behavior al changes in children.  

Scientists have also found BPA in the sand and air. Studies have 
found that  it can interfere with lobster reproduction in the 
Northeastern United Stat es.  

This year the FDA raised concerns regarding the effects of BPA on 
fetuses,  infants and young children but said it lacked the authority 
to act to immed iately ban the chemical from food and beverage 
containers. According to the  Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, BPA is found in over 93 percen t of the population. 
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Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of 
Christ  in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical 
cooperation among Chri stians in the United States. The NCC's 36 
member faith groups -- from a wid e spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, 
Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African  American and Living Peace 
churches -- include 45 million persons in more t han 100,000 local 
congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 
646-853-4212 ( cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org