Articles labeled: polycarbonate plastic

A group of parents in Ohio have joined the bishpenol-A lawsuit bandwagon, and have filed a class action suit against a number of baby bottle manufacturers including Evenflo, Avent, and Playtex, due to their inclusion of the chemical BPA in their manufacturing process. The harms of bisphenol-a to humans are currently up for debate.

Handicraft spokesman Steve Richardson declined to comment Wednesday. Playtex spokeswoman Jacqueline Burwitz said the company doesn’t comment on pending legal matters. A Gerber spokeswoman referred questions to Switzerland-based Nestlé SA, which acquired Gerber Products Co. from Novartis AG last year.

Messages for Nestlé, Evenflo and Avent were not returned.

A Journal Sentinel investigation last year found that an overwhelming majority of scientific studies spanning 20 years concluded that bisphenol A poses significant health risks to laboratory animals. Studies that found the chemical was safe were mostly paid for by the chemical industry. At the time, federal regulators had sided with the industry, downplaying the risks of bisphenol A.

This should get the government conspiracy theorists all worked up. After months and months of news about BPA (bisphenol-a) being dangerous and causing outright bans of the stuff in Canada, an FDA official has stated that BPA is safe, and there’s no reason for consumers to actively seek out alternatives. Well, since the alternatives are pretty easily available, we’re going to do it anyway… but we’re paranoid like that.

Small amounts of bisphenol A can be released as plastics break down. Dr. Norris Alderson, the Food and Drug Administration’s associate commissioner for science, said, however, that the level of exposure was safe. Some studies had reported higher release levels than projected by the agency, but many of those studies were conducted under unrealistic conditions, he said.

“Although our review is ongoing, there’s no reason to recommend consumers stop using products with (bisphenol A),” Alderson told a House subcommittee.

Bisphenol A also is used in many other products, from helmets to compact discs to goggles. Any ban of the chemical could result in less effective protection for children who wear the protective gear, said Dr. Michael Babich of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. About 99 percent of human exposure to the chemical comes from diet.

Despite growing concerns about the safety of BPA — bisphenol-a — in plastic products like baby bottles, the FDA is refusing to speak out negatively against the chemical, saying it sees no reason to believe its current use is unsafe.

The FDA’s statement, released in a climate of heavy pressure from the chemical industry, is in contrast to developments in Canada. On April 19 the Canadian government began a 60-day public comment period on whether polycarbonate baby bottles should be banned in the country. Observers have said a comprehensive ban on polycarbonate is even possible up north in the near future.

For its part, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., makers of Nalgene bottles, have announced that they will stop using polycarbonate. Wal-Mart says it expects all baby bottles it carries to be free of the material by early next year, and Toys R Us has discussed a similar plan.

Three major brands of polycarbonate baby bottles sold in Canada — Gerber, Avent and Playtex — were tested by a Toronto environmental group and were found to leach the chemical BPA, especially when heated. The Playtex bottles leached the chemical whether heated or not. The true effects of BPA is still under debate, but we think everyone can agree that the less chemicals ingested by our kids, the better.

Tests conducted on three major brands of polycarbonate baby bottles sold in Canada found products from all the manufacturers leached detectable amounts of bisphenol A, a synthetic chemical that mimics the hormone estrogen and is a major component in many types of plastic.

The testing was conducted by Environmental Defence, a Toronto environmental group that issued its findings Thursday and is the first publicly available information on the seepage of BPA from polycarbonate baby bottles sold in the country.

The highest levels were found after the bottles were heated, which the group said was done to simulate the effects on the plastic of parents’ subjecting the containers to repeated high-temperature dish washing.