Oakland, Calif.– Legislation to ban the toxic plastics chemical bisphenol A from baby bottles and sippy cups sold in California is moving to the California Senate floor.
The Senate’s Environmental Quality Committee approved the Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act (AB 1319)today. A Senate vote on the legislation, sponsored by Environmental Working Group and authored by State Assembly member Betsy Butler (D-Marina Del Ray) and State Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), may come before the end of August.
“California’s children are about to find out where state lawmakers stand on exposing them to a toxic chemical, beginning during the first hours after birth,” said Renee Sharp, head of EWG’s California office
A number of states have taken similar steps to restrict the use of BPA in certain baby products. But none has the economic clout of California.
“California, while not the first state to take this action, could be the most important,” said Elisa Odabashian of Consumers Union. “As is so often the case with major environmental and public health initiatives, as goes California, so goes the nation.”
California’s economy is one of the largest in the world, giving it enormous influence over many industries, especially when state laws bar certain materials in products.
In addition to EWG, the legislation was co-sponsored by Consumers Union, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, and Black Women for Wellness.
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EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. https://www.ewg.org
