BPA Part of New U.S. Review of Dangerous Chemicals
Bisphenol A, or BPA, has gained a nasty reputation for running rampant in food packaging, especially plastic bottles. BPA may interfere with hormones.
So now that BPA has been widely vilified in people’s minds, the EPA plans to overhaul the way chemicals are evaluated in the United States.
The EPA proposed sweeping changes to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, referring to it as an “inadequate tool” to help protect the public.
Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson acknowledges the problem, saying, “Many are turning to the government for assurance that these chemicals have been assessed using the best available science. Current law doesn’t allow us to give those assurances.”
You don’t want to hear that from people who are supposed to protect us from companies trying to sneak hazardous chemicals by us.
EPA officials want to shift the burden to companies, forcing them to prove chemicals, like BPA, are safe, and to urge producers to develop more “green” chemistry.
Biodegrable plastic has already been invented, called “Bioplastic,” made from corn starch, pea starch, and vegetable oil.
Image credit: septuagesima
