BPA ban bill passes in Washington: Could Oregon be next?

The Washington State House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation that would ban Bisphenol A (BPA) in children's food containers. The bill sailed through with a vote of 95-1. Read the story in The Olympian.

From The Olympian:

"If the legislation becomes law, Washington will join Minnesota and Connecticut as the only states to eliminate bisphenol A (BPA) in children’s products."

Oregon could soon be on that list, too.

That's right. It's time to start thinking about Oregon's 2010 Special Legislative Session, which starts Monday. The Oregon Conservation Network, the coalition of more than 40 groups (coordinated by OLCV) that works to pass pro-environment legislation, will be working on three priorities in the month-long session. One of them will be to protect children's health by banning BPA from baby bottles and children's food containers sold in Oregon.

More and more evidence shows that BPA, a chemical found in plastics like baby bottles, is harmful to children's health. The Oregon Environmental Council is leading a large coalition to support this proposal from the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. The federal government is concerned about the potential effects of BPA--even at very low exposure levels--on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children.