Update: In the final bill, San Francisco restricted Phthalates but not Bisphenol A. (BPA) A timeline of how this unfolded is included in the second half of a more recent post "Phthalates and Bisphenol A: Media and Politics"
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The city of San Francisco banned the manufacture, sale or distribution in San Francisco of products intended for the use of children younger than three if they contain bisphenol A and some phthalates (di (2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate, diisodecyl phthalate, and di-n-octyl phthalate). The city supervisors voted unanimously on the bill, which is planned go into effect December 1, 2006.
Acronym Required reported earlier this year that a similar California state bill, sponsored by Wilma Chan D-Oakland, failed in the appropriations stage by one vote. Voting against the measure was departing Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, who has since won in the State Senate primary. Assemblyman Yee's vote was completely incongruous with his campaign claims. He heavily promotes his "100% pro-environment" stance. He also says he's a "healthcare professional", who is "recognized as a statewide leader on health issues". Yet according to his office, Yee said there was a "lack of evidence", to support the bill. The American Plastics Council also says there's a "lack of evidence" to support the bill. There are over 153 research studies that show deleterious health effects from bisphenol A.
Some of the newest research last month was reported by researchers in the journal "Cancer Research". The researchers showed a direct effect of exposure to estradiol or bisphenol A in male neonates, who are at higher risk for prostate disease later in life due to epigenetic changes incurred in the womb. (Ho et al, Developmental Exposure to Estradiol and Bisphenol A Increases Susceptibility to Prostate Carcinogenesis and Epigenetically Regulates Phosphodiesterase Type 4 Variant 4, Cancer Research 66, 5624-5632, June 1, 2006).
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A previous article Plastic Bottles- Protecting Your Baby, by the ACC" talked about the American Chemical Council's campaigns to distort and suppress scientific findings on health issues with plastics. The ACC was again quite active in trying to dissuade the council from voting for the ban. Acronym Required discusses efforts by the ACC to claim that the ban on plastic will have negative economic consequences in a previous article.
This is an interesting article, thanks.