Bisphenol-A (BPA) has a long history of connections to health problems ranging from early onset puberty in females, to ADHD, and even cancer. Clearly this is not a safe chemical, and Canada has decided to label it that way — on Wednesday our neighbors to the north took steps towards adding BPA to the country’s list of toxic substances.
Canada and a growing list of other countries, including France and Denmark, are seeing the dangers of BPA and are protecting their citizens against it. So why won’t the U.S. follow suit? Well it could have something to do with the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a trade association responsible for improving the public image of the chemical industry. The ACC has stuck by BPA declaring that Canada has “pandered to emotional zealots,” and asked for a review of the proposed toxic listing.
And our Food and Drug Administration isn’t helping either. Although the FDA notes that they have some concern of the health effects of BPA, they also conceed that the chemical is so prevalent and has so many different formulations, that banning it would be very difficult. Apparently it’s just easier to let people deal with the side effects.
Story via Grist
