#BPA Back On CA #Toxic Chemicals List

If you live in California, you’ve seen the plaques that alert–and alarm–people that building materials may contain toxic chemicals. In a historic decision, today California added Bisphenol A–better known as BPA–to our state’s Proposition 65 list of known toxic chemicals.

It’s historic because California is a behemoth state in terms of influence, and what happens here affects the rest of the country (as we saw specifically in the case of flame retardants). BPA was originally on the Prop 65 list, but a Big Chem lawsuit forced the state to take it off; after the lawsuit was dismissed last year, the road was open for BPA to be added back onto the list.

Today, the scientists at California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which administers Prop 65, technically known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, voted to list BPA as a reproductive hazard.

The subject of many peer-reviewed studies, low levels of BPA exposure during pregnancy have been linked to serious health problems in babies and children. And it’s everywhere–from canned foods to cash register receipts–so a move like this could really make an impact.