Feds nix BPA ban

In early April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied a proposed ban on the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA), despite a petition claiming it is toxic to humans, especially infants.

The FDA rejected a petition filed in 2008 by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which maintained BPA represents a serious risk to human health, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. BPA is a synthetic estrogen used to make polycarbonate plastic used in bottles and other common products, as well as an epoxy resin used to line metal cans. The Environmental Working Group, which has lobbied for BPA to be removed from products like baby bottles and formula, is among many activist groups criticizing federal regulators for giving preferential treatment to scientists paid by the chemical industry.

While thousands of studies have linked BPA to miscarriage and other forms of reproductive failure, annual revenue for the chemical industry from BPA is estimated around $6 billion.