PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Multnomah County has barred sales of baby bottles and sippy cups made of the plastic hardener Bisphenol A starting next year. That makes the state’s most populous county the first government in Oregon to act against a chemical critics say can harm children.
The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/vpAPLs) that the ban is narrow. In many cases, manufacturers have stopped using the chemical in the products.
Supporters of the ban say it’s a first step, and they hope the local ban will prod the state to act.
Plastics and canning interests have opposed statewide measures, which have failed in the Legislature. The American Chemistry Council said in a letter to the commission that the local ban isn’t supported by what it termed “credible scientific information.”
