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NCC lauds Canada for declaring BPA a toxic substance
Washington, October 20, 2010 – The
National Council of Churches today applauded Canada’s decision to declare Bisphenol A (BPA) to be a toxic substance, and called on the
United States to follow
suit. “The United States can and should be a global leader to protect public health,” said Chloe Schwabe, NCC Eco-Justice program manager for environmental health. “Protecting all children of God and the whole of Creation are moral imperatives. It is high time that our government acts with conscience to protect all of God’s children and Creation from the known and potential long term health effects of BPA," Schwabe said.
Studies
have found that BPA can interfere with infant and children’s development and
may be a factor leading to breast and prostate cancer.
State ecumenical and interfaith
organizations participated in efforts to persuade states to take this step.
The European Union indicated this
week that they will likely take action to address BPA as well. The NCC’s
Eco-Justice program has called upon the U.S. Congress to give the Federal
Drug Administration (FDA) the
authority to quickly regulate BPA and other chemicals in other food and
beverage packaging to ensure their safety. BPA is widely used in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins such as water bottles, baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula containers, and food cans. The major manufacturers of baby
bottles and sippy cups all offer BPA-free alternatives.
Researchers have known for decades
that BPA is estrogenic. Research in the last two decades has found that it
may contribute to early puberty in girls, prostate and breast cancer,
obesity, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral changes in children.
Scientists have also found BPA in the
sand and air. Studies have found that it can interfere with lobster
reproduction in the This year the FDA raised concerns regarding the effects of BPA on fetuses, infants and young children but said it lacked the authority to act to immediately ban the chemical from food and beverage containers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BPA is found in over 93 percent of the population. Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 36 member faith groups -- from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches -- include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation. NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212 (cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org |