FDA misses self-imposed BPA deadline … again
December 31st, 2009 joshua
The Food and Drug Administration has missed another self-imposed deadline on its decision over the safety of the plastics chemical bisphenol A.
Nearly everyone but the FDA believes the chemical is toxic. Studies have linked it from everything from birth defects and disabilities in infants to cancer in adults, and retailers and manufacturers of numerous products currently containing BPA have pledged to ban it this year.
Regulators have read these reports and still remain in limbo over its safety, a sign there is a strong plastics and chemicals lobby in Washington, D.C.
BPA is a chemical that is added to plastics to make them more flexible and shatter-proof. It is a staple in the compound that comprises many baby bottles and toddler sippy cups, but as the drinking cups wears down slowly, it is believed the chemical slowly makes its way into the bloodstream of people.
At least 97 percent of people tested have significant levels of BPA in their urine, and more tests have shown the chemical is most harmful to fetuses and the youngest children.
The FDA has spent more than a half-year promising to rule on the safety of the chemical, despite already taking a public stance that it is safe.
Because of so much evidence to the contrary, regulators decided to have another look at studies and consider changing its collective mind.
The FDA last said it would have that decision by the end of November, when it said it would have it by the end of the year.
