WASHINGTON — The US House on July 30 approved a $3.5 billion measure that, among other directives, would order the head of the US Department of Health and Human Services to determine by the end of this year whether the plastic-hardening chemical bisphenol A (BPA) presents a risk to people in some age groups, a July 31 Bloomberg report said.

BPA is used in polycarbonate water bottles and other food containers such as baby bottles. Expert opinions vary about whether, in the amounts it is present in food containers, BPA can cause health problems.

On the national level, the head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Margaret Hamburg, has said the agency is reexamining its position about the safety of BPA in food containers. The review was expected to be completed by the end of the summer, as WaterTech Online® has reported. Under the House-approved measure (H.R. 2749), Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would have until year’s end to determine if BPA presents a risk to infants, pregnant women or young children.

State-level regulatory action on BPA varies: A California regulatory board on July 15 voted against placing BPA on the state’s list of chemicals that are believed to cause reproductive harm; the states of Minnesota and Connecticut have banned BPA’s use in making baby bottles.

H.R. 2749 is extensive because it would direct the FDA to write new regulations to safeguard the food supply, require more frequent inspections of processing plants and force companies to keep better records to help regulators trace outbreaks, Bloomberg reported.

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