If you happened to notice a 20-foot-tall baby bottle hanging around the streets of Northampton last week, don’t panic—the city has not been overtaken by a band of giant marauding infants.
The oversized, inflatable bottle was brought to the city by environmental activists to call attention to something much scarier: the potential health risks of bisphenol-A, or BPA, a plastic hardener used in a wide array of consumer products, including some baby bottles. A growing body of research links the chemical to a range of potential health problems, including cancer, diabetes, premature puberty, hyperactivity and sexual dysfunctions, and raises concerns about the chemical’s effects on fetuses, babies and young children in particular.
In the shadow of the giant bottle—which read, on its side, “Got BPA? Make this bottle safe inside and out!”— a group of scientists and public health activists called for the state Department of Public Health to follow the lead of other states, including Connecticut, in banning the use of BPA in food containers, including baby food containers and formula cans, as well as baby bottles and sippy cups.
Last month, the Mass. Public Health Council, in response to an order from Gov. Deval Patrick to develop a policy on BPA, released a draft policy that would ban the chemical in bottles and sippy cups, but does not extend to formula cans and other food containers. That policy, critics say, does not go far enough; what good is it to keep BPA out of baby bottles if those bottles are filled from formula cans that contain the chemical? (See “Not Far Enough,” May 20, 2010)
The Northampton rally, which took place June 23 on Main Street outside First Churches, preceded a public hearing on the proposed state policy at the regional DPH office.
The public comment period on the proposal ends this week. To submit your thoughts to the DPH, send a word document to Reg.Testimony@state.ma.us (with “BPA” in the subject line). Supporters of a broader-reaching policy that would ban BPA in all reusable food and beverage containers, including baby food and formula containers, can sign on to an online petition organized by the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, at www.healthytomorrow.org (click on the “action alert” button on the front page).
