Investigative Reporting on Bisphenol A

Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust of the The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have done an excellent job of investigative reporting on bisphenol A. The full series is available at http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/34405049.html  For highlights, click the titles below:
  • FDA relied heavily on BPA lobby As federal regulators hold fast to their claim that a chemical in baby bottles is safe, e-mails obtained by the Journal Sentinel show that they relied on chemical industry lobbyists to examine bisphenol A's risks, track legislation to ban it and even monitor press coverage. 
  • BPA industry fights back Public relations blitz takes cue from tobacco companies' past tactics. The article reveals plans by the Society of the Plastics Industry to execute a major public relations blitz to promote BPA, including plans to attack and discredit those who report or comment negatively on the monomer and its effects.
  • BPA leaches from 'microwave safe' products Products marketed for infants or billed as "microwave safe" release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when heated, an analysis by the Journal Sentinel has found. 
  • EPA veils hazardous substances The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency routinely allows companies to keep new information about their chemicals secret, including compounds that have been shown to cause cancer and respiratory problems, the Journal Sentinel has found.
  • Plastics industry behind FDA research, study finds A government report claiming that bisphenol A is safe was written largely by the plastics industry and others with a financial stake in the controversial chemical, the Journal Sentinel found. 
  • Donation raises questions for head of FDA’s bisphenol A panel A retired medical supply manufacturer who considers bisphenol A to be "perfectly safe" gave $5 million to the research center of Martin Philbert, chairman of the Food and Drug Administration panel about to make a pivotal ruling on the chemical's safety. 
  • EPA fails to collect chemical safety data A few blocks from St. Josaphat Basilica on Milwaukee’s near south side, a company called Milport Enterprises makes more than a million pounds a year of a chemical that no one knows much about, not even the company executives. This is despite a decade of promises by the federal government to provide safety information about just such chemicals. 
  • Hazardous flame retardant found in household objects A flame retardant that was taken out of children's pajamas more than 30 years ago after it was found to cause cancer is being used with increasing regularity in furniture, paint - even baby carriers and bassinets - and manufacturers are under no obligation to let the public know about it.
  • EPA drops ball on danger of chemicals to children The Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to evaluate compounds in products such as flame retardants in mattresses and car seats to see if they are especially harmful to children. But it doesn't. 
  • Warning: Bisphenol A is in you The federal government's assurances that a common chemical is safe are based on outdated U.S. government studies and research heavily funded by the chemical industry.
  • Are your products safe? You can't tell. Congress ordered the federal government in 1996 to begin testing and regulating certain chemicals suspected of causing cancer and a host of developmental problems. Eleven years later, not a single compound has been put to that test. 

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