EPA Considering New Toxicity Testing and Environmental Sampling for BPA (HQ)
WASHINGTON – Following a BPA Action Plan announced in March
2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting
public comment on possible toxicity testing and environmental
sampling to study BPA’s potential environmental impacts. BPA
has been shown to cause reproductive and developmental effects in
animal studies. This action is part of Administrator Lisa P.
Jackson’s comprehensive effort to strengthen EPA’s
chemical management program and assure the safety of chemicals that
Americans encounter in their daily lives.
BPA is used in the manufacture of a wide range
of consumer and industrial products including food-can liners, hard
polycarbonate plastics, epoxy paints and coatings, and thermal
papers, including some cash register receipts. Releases of BPA to
the environment exceed 1 million pounds per year.
“A number of concerns have been raised
about the potential human health and environmental effects of
BPA,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for
EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
“The data collected under the testing EPA is considering
would help EPA better understand and address the potential
environmental impacts of BPA.”
In January 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration announced it would further examine potential human
health effects and reduce exposure to BPA in the food supply, which
represents the greatest source of exposure to people. EPA is
working with FDA, Centers for Disease Control, and the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences on research under way to
better determine and evaluate the potential health consequences of
BPA exposures. At the conclusion of that research, EPA will
determine if additional actions may be needed to address human
health concerns from non-food use exposures.
EPA issued an action plan on BPA in March 2010
outlining possible steps the agency might take to address risks
presented by BPA, including the testing discussed in today’s
announcement. EPA’s BPA action plan is available at
https://www.epa.gov/chemicals-under-tsca.
Comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPR) must be received on or before September 26, 2011.
The ANPR and supporting information can be found in docket number
EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0812 on the Federal eRulemaking Portal, https://www.regulations.gov/.