Both legislative chambers in Wisconsin and Washington have passed bans on food and drink containers that contain bisphenol A and are intended for use by children 3 and younger, setting the stage for them to become the third and fourth states to ban baby bottles containing BPA.
An initial attempt to ban BPA in Oregon died Feb. 16 when its Senate deadlocked 15-15. Under state legislative rules, the bill can resurface for another vote as long as the Legislature, which is expected to adjourn this month, is in session.
The Wisconsin Assembly voted 95-2 on Feb. 16 to enact the BPA ban, joining a unanimous vote in the Senate last month. The bill is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle.
In Washington, the two chambers still need to decide whether the BPA ban also will apply to sports-water bottles — a provision in the House bill, not the Senate's.
At least nine other states are considering BPA bans.
Last year, Minnesota, Connecticut, Chicago and Suffolk County in New York enacted bans on BPA. The Minnesota and Chicago bans went into effect in January; the Suffolk County ban in July 2009. The Connecticut ban will go into effect Oct. 1, 2011. That ban also applies to infant formula cans and reusable food and beverage containers.
BPA is used to make polycarbonate and epoxy resins. The six manufacturers of baby bottles last year agreed to stop selling PC bottles in the United States.
More than 6 billion pounds of BPA were produced in the U.S. in 2009.
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