THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY PICKETT, PHILLIPS, MAJOR, BAKER, BOBACK, COHEN, CREIGHTON, CRUZ, FLECK, FRANKEL, GEORGE, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, HELM, HENNESSEY, KIRKLAND, KORTZ, MARKOSEK, McILVAINE SMITH, MELIO, MILLARD, MOUL, MURT, PAYNE, PETRARCA, PYLE, RAPP, READSHAW, ROHRER, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, STEVENSON, SWANGER, TRUE, VULAKOVICH, YOUNGBLOOD, GEIST, WANSACZ, BRIGGS AND CALTAGIRONE, FEBRUARY 24, 2009

AS AMENDED, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, APRIL 28, 2009   

A RESOLUTION

Urging the Congress of the United States and the Food and Drug

Administration to encourage the use of reduced bisphenol-A in

the manufacture of plastic food containers and bottles and to

eliminate the importation, sale and advertising of

polycarbonate baby bottles.

WHEREAS, Bisphenol-A (BPA) is one of the most extensively

tested materials in use today and has been used in consumer

products and researched and studied for more than 40 years; and

WHEREAS, BPA is an industrial chemical used to make hard,

lightweight, heat-resistant, clear plastic, known as

polycarbonate, that is used in many consumer products, including

CDs, DVDs, electrical and electronic equipment, automobiles,

sports safety equipment, reusable food and drink containers,

such as reusable water and baby bottles, and in components of

lifesaving medical equipment; and

WHEREAS, BPA is also found in epoxy resins used in products

like electrical laminates for printed circuit boards,

composites, paints, adhesives, a variety of protective coatings

and as a protective lining on the inside of metal-based food and

beverage cans to maintain the quality of the contents; and

WHEREAS, The use of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins

for food contact applications has been and continues to be

recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),

the European Food Safety Authority, the Japanese Ministry for

Health, Labor and Welfare and other regulatory authorities

worldwide; and

WHEREAS, While an extensive body of well-documented and well-

reviewed scientific studies on BPA already provides strong

reassurances that there is no basis for human health concerns

from exposure to low doses of BPA, recent media reports have

raised concerns about the safety and use of polycarbonate

plastic and epoxy resins, including Canada's announcement of a

possible ban on baby bottles containing BPA, which is both

confusing and frightening to the public; and

WHEREAS, Canada has advised its citizens that BPA does not

pose a risk to the general population, including adults,

teenagers and children, and that consumers can continue to use

polycarbonate water bottles and consume canned foods and bottled

beverages packaged in containers containing low doses of BPA;

and

WHEREAS, Canada has turned its focus to newborns and infants,

concluding that early development may be sensitive to the

effects of even low doses of BPA; and

WHEREAS, The Canadian study has determined that these low

levels of BPA may impact the health of newborns and infants

under 18 months through the migration of BPA from polycarbonate

products, like baby bottles and the epoxy resin linings of

infant formula cans; and

WHEREAS, The FDA, the premier food safety agency in the

United States that has been and continues to be actively engaged

in the critical review of emerging data on BPA, does not

recommend that consumers discontinue using products containing

BPA but advises concerned consumers that several alternatives to

polycarbonate baby bottles are readily available to them,

including glass bottles; and

WHEREAS, The FDA has formed an agency-wide BPA task force to

review current research and any new information on BPA for all

FDA-regulated products; and

WHEREAS, The FDA task force is reviewing the concerns

presented in the National Toxicology Program Draft Brief,

published April 14, 2008, by the National Institute of Health,

the concerns presented in the Canadian draft risk assessment

released in April 2008 and are coordinating closely with Health

Canada, the Canadian Ministry of the Environmental and Minister

of Health; and

WHEREAS, It is important that the FDA move as quickly as

possible to undertake this review, because the results will help

to better inform the public; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania urge Congress and the FDA to work with the industry

to reduce the level of BPA in plastic food containers and

bottles and the linings of cans and find alternative

technologies to BPA; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania urge that, until the FDA task force review is

completed or until conclusive evidence is presented on the

effects of BPA on early development in newborns and infants

under 18 months of age, the FDA adopt a position of caution by

eliminating the importation, sale and advertising of

polycarbonate baby bottles; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to

the Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration,

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Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D. Joshua M. Sharfstein, M.D., the

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presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member

of Congress from Pennsylvania.