EDITORIAL

Jun. 13, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- State legislators should welcome a bill introduced this week that would make it illegal to sell baby bottles and cups for kids that use the chemical bisphenol A.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) and state Rep. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), would make Wisconsin the third state to impose such a ban. Minnesota and Connecticut already have done so, as have Chicago and Suffolk County in New York. A similar bill has passed one house of the California Legislature.

It's about time.

Journal Sentinel reporting over the past year has revealed a U.S. Food and Drug Administration that was co-opted by the chemical industry. Even though numerous studies showed a link between the chemical and an array of diseases in laboratory animals, the FDA chose to believe a smaller number of studies that failed to find such links. Those studies, by and large, were funded by the industry. Even as late as last September, the FDA still was claiming BPA was safe.

Bills in both houses of Congress would make the ban federal -- which we would prefer. But in the absence of federal action, a state law makes sense.

The Lassa-Roys bill also would require manufacturers and retailers of baby bottles and kids' cups to label their products as free of BPA.

BPA is used in many products, including clear, hard plastics. It has been linked to health problems as varied as breast and testicular cancer to diabetes and heart disease.

Last month, the Journal Sentinel reported how lobbyists and food packaging executives met to map out a public relations strategy and "manipulate the legislative process." The articles led to demands from congressional leaders that the FDA reassess the chemical.

It's clear that this reassessment was long overdue and that when it concludes, the FDA belatedly will find what a growing number of state and local governments are finding: BPA isn't safe for kids. And, we'd argue, it's not safe for anyone else, either.

Should BPA be banned in products intended for children? In all products? To be considered for publication as a letter to the editor, e-mail your opinion to the Journal Sentinel editorial department. Please see letters guidelines.

Newstex ID: 35731335