"The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it is intensifying its look at how BPA affects the nation's wildlife and water supply and will designate the compound as a 'chemical of concern.'

The action plan is part of a growing effort by federal regulators to more carefully scrutinize the effects of the chemical. Bisphenol A is found in the lining of most food and beverage cans.

The move by the EPA comes after a three-year investigation by the Journal Sentinel found that government agencies relied heavily on industry scientists to assess BPA's safety, ignoring hundreds of independent studies that found the chemical caused harm.

In February, the Journal Sentinel revealed that eight days after chemical industry lobbyists met with Obama administration officials, the EPA delayed action on regulating the chemical more aggressively.

Lisa Jackson, EPA's top administrator, had said last fall that her agency would be taking a more aggressive approach to regulating chemicals of concern. She repeatedly mentioned BPA among those chemicals.

But when the agency's list of 'chemicals of concern' - those that will get the highest scrutiny - came out in late December, BPA was not on it.

At the time, the agency said BPA would be added to the list in two years."

Meg Kissinger reports for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 30, 2010.
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See Also:

"New E.P.A. Scrutiny Is Set for a Chemical in Plastics" (New York Times)
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