Protecting Children from Toxic Chemicals: An Opportunity for Bipartisanship

Today, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana announced he will not be seeking re-election to the US Senate. His stated reason is his belief that the US Senate is not the best place for him to serve the public anymore. He expressed dismay over the seeming inability to find bipartisan cooperation on what should be non-controversial issues.

While I don’t always agree with Bayh on the issues, I agree with his general sentiment. It does seem as if every single issue has become fodder for partisan attacks and political positioning. That's not a good thing, and doesn’t really make sense to regular people who simply want a government that will get things done.

We have been lucky here in Oregon to have a very productive Legislature the past four years that has chalked up major, bipartisan accomplishments on health care, the economy, jobs, the environment, schools, public safety, ethics and fiscal management.    

With this in mind, OLCV and the environmental community made a conscious choice to bring an agenda to the short February session that would receive strong bipartisan support. Our top priority in the House--House Bill 3613, which will extend Oregon’s moratorium on oil and gas exploration off of the Oregon coast--passed last week with a strong bipartisan majority. This week, our top priority in the Senate will be on the floor and we expect that it will be even less controversial.

This time were talking about protecting babies and toddlers from toxic chemicals in baby bottles. Our priority bill, Senate Bill 1032, sponsored by Senator Jackie Dingfelder and supported by a large coalition of environmental, health and consumer organizations, will simply require Oregon retailers to sell baby bottles and sippy cups that are free of the toxic chemical, Bisphinol A (BPA). I don’t think it’s possible for a public health issue to be any less controversial and straightforward to Oregonians than keeping toxic chemicals out of food containers intended for babies. 

Let’s quickly review the facts.  

• There is growing scientific evidence that BPA is linked to serious health problems in humans and is especially dangerous to children under three years of age--while their bodies are still developing. In response to this mountain of information the FDA recently announced steps the public should take to limit exposure to BPA.
• There is strong consensus among grocers and retailers that only BPA free food containers should be sold to parents. Several large retailers and bottle makers, such as Babies R Us and Walmart, have already taken food containers for children under three containing BPA off of their shelves. Nalgene, which produces sports water bottles, announced it will no longer use BPA in manufacuring. In fact, approximately 90 percent of bottles available for purchase in Oregon are already BPA free. SB 1032 will simply take the final 10 percent of bottles with BPA off store shelves and guarantee parents and grandparents that they are buying a safe product for their children and grandchildren. You can read the full list of manufacturers and retailers who have pledged to go "BPA free" here.

I know you’re asking, "What’s the catch?" There really isn’t a catch. We even worked with the grocers to craft the final language that clearly limits the scope of this bill to containers intended for children under the age of three. This same bill recently passed the Washington Legislature with votes of  95 – 1 in the House and 36 – 9 in the Senate. Last month, the Wisconsin Senate passed the same bill unanimously.

We expect that the Oregon Senate will join Washington and Wisconsin (along with California and Minnesota) in taking this small, common sense step to protect babies and toddlers. We will post the results of what should be another large bipartisan vote later this week.