"After more than a decade of pressure from environmental health advocates, the Food and Drug Administration is set to reconsider the health effects of a common and controversial industrial chemical often used in plastics.
At issue is BPA, or bisphenol A, a widely used compound that often serves as an additive in the production of polycarbonate, a hard type of plastic commonly used in consumer products, like reusable water bottles. The chemical has proved highly useful in making items sturdier, leading to its widespread use. But scientists and public health groups have worried for years that BPA, an endocrine disruptor that affects human hormones, poses risks for fetal development and to people, including infants and children. Other concerns include increased blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Despite those risks, U.S. regulators have repeatedly punted on a BPA crackdown even as their European counterparts have charged ahead. Advocates hope that is about to change."
E.A. Crunden and Ariel Wittenberg report for E&E News June 2, 2022.
Advertisement 
