Inside Prevention

Europe votes to ban chemical from baby bottles (USA Today, 11/29/2010)

Just a week after the U.S. Congress failed to protect kids from bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups—instead allowing the chemical industry to call its own shots—the European Commission has voted to ban the chemical from baby bottles throughout Europe.

Denmark and France have already adopted their own bans on BPA, an estrogenic chemical linked to breast cancer that's used in hard plastic bottles and the lining of food cans, among many other applications. Now all European countries will be directed to stop selling baby bottles that contain BPA by June 2011.

The new EU regulation sets a major precedent—one we hope U.S. lawmakers and agencies will follow.

Simply put, regulation is the only way to make sure that everyone is safe, not just those who know to read labels and shop at forward-thinking retailers. Our own Director of Program and Policy explained to USA Today:

Although consumer backlash has prompted major American baby bottle manufacturers to stop using BPA, the chemical is used in cheaper products sold in discount stores, according to Janet Nudelman of the Breast Cancer Fund. (Read complete article.)

California aims to remove toxins in products (Associated Press, 11/21/2010)

The Associated Press shines a rare light on an innovative (we hope) program taking shape in the Golden State: the California Green Chemistry Initiative. The program's goal: to protect Californians from toxic chemicals in a wide range of consumer products, not specific to one chemical or one product category. Instead, the idea was to spur innovation in green chemistry solutions--those that are good for the health of people and planet.

"It's really important for this to get off on the right track," said Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, who authored the bill, saying it "could be a whole new model for how we break the link between toxic chemicals and cancer and other serious diseases." (Read complete article.)

Way back when, the Breast Cancer Fund helped secure passage of two state laws that created the initiative in 2008. We've been at the table throughout implementation, most recently rallying public comment on a draft version of the program before a Nov. 1 deadline. The chemical industry, not surprisingly, has been lobbying to weaken the regulations. The final version of the program is due sometime next month.

Flight risk and radiation

Two days before Thanksgiving, and odds are you're traveling somewhere this week. If an airport is in your immediate future, you may have a new choice to make: full-body radiation scan or the dreaded pat-down.

Particularly if you've been exposed to a lot of radiation in your life (cancer survivors who've had radiation treatment, anyone who's had a lot of X-rays or CT scans, those whose jobs expose them to radiation), you might consider the pat-down.

Ionizing radiation is the best-established environmental cause of breast cancer. What's more, radiation's carcinogenic effects are cumulative over your lifetime. That cumulative concern led a pilots' union earlier this month to advise its members to skip the scan and go for the pat-down.

And while scanners may be considered "safe" by the federal government and FDA if correctly set up, monitored and used, the reality is that even X-ray equipment in health care settings, run by medical professionals, may be miscalibrated, malfunctioning or otherwise deliver an excessive dose of radiation accidentally.

Like the screening process itself, the choice to get a scan or a pat-down is a very personal decision. Whatever you decide is best for you this week, we wish you a happy, healthy Thanksgiving! May you and yours be well.

Chemical industry lobbyists block measure to protect infants and toddlers (Huffington Post, 11/19/2010)

The Breast Cancer Fund has been working with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to create public policy that would protect Americans from bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogenic chemical linked to breast cancer and found in hard plastics, can linings and more. Unfortunately, her bipartisan proposal to ban BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups was blocked by chemical industry lobbying last week.

Read what Sen. Feinstein has to say about BPA and the future, from the Huffington Post:

One day our children will look back and wonder why we willingly risked our health by exposing ourselves to harmful chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in thousands of consumer products. Unfortunately, chemical industry lobbyists wish to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. Just as the tobacco industry once told us it was safe to smoke cigarettes, the chemical industry is trying to tell us it's OK to ingest harmful chemicals. It's not OK. (Read complete article.)

Bipartisan efforts stymied thanks to industry - but it's not over

After a highly contentious mid-term election, this week's bipartisan Senate effort to protect kids from BPA was a hopeful sign. But the chemical industry snapped the work back to business as usual. A report from Greenwire and posted on NYTimes.com provides some insight into the good, bad and ugly:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) told reporters that she and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) had reached agreement last night on adding language to the Senate's pending food safety bill, which cleared a key procedural hurdle today on a 74-25 vote, to set a six-month window for banning BPA from baby bottles and children's drinking cups.

But the American Chemistry Council (ACC), chemical manufacturers' chief Washington lobbying arm, "opposes even that" and has mobilized other Republicans against any attempt to address BPA on the food legislation, Feinstein said. (Read complete article.)

We've since learned there are three Senators in a critical position to resurrect the BPA amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act before the vote happens tonight. Please call them ASAP and express your support for the BPA amendment and kids' health: Sen. Burr (R-NC): (202) 224-3154, Sen. Gregg (R-NH): (202) 224-3324, Sen. McConnell (R-KY): (202) 224-2541 or (202) 224-3135.

Proposed food safety bill good for 'everyone who eats' - but BPA proposal dies (USA Today, 11/18/2010)

USA Today reports in this morning's paper on the BPA amendment failure:

A key provision that would have restricted an estrogen-like chemical used to harden plastics died. The proposal would have banned bisphenol A, or BPA, in baby bottles and cups for children. The FDA has expressed "some concern" about the health effects of BPA on fetuses, infants and young children, but hasn't taken action to reduce exposure.

"It's a huge blow for kids," said Janet Nudelman of the eco-friendly Breast Cancer Fund. (Read complete article.)

This may not be the absolute last word, as the food safety bill has not yet been voted on. Stay tuned.

American Chemistry Council blocks BPA ban in Senate

It's a sad day when 11th-hour lobbying by the chemical industry can derail a bipartisan effort to protect kids from a chemical linked to breast cancer. But that's how the effort to ban bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles and sippy cups ended today in the U.S. Senate.

The BPA amendment was to be offered by Sen. Feinstein as part of the larger Food Safety Modernization Act today, but the American Chemistry Council jumped in to block the amendment at the last minute. BPA is a synthetic estrogen linked to a laundry list of serious health problems, including breast cancer. Developing children are particularly at risk from its effects.

Needless to say, this isn't the news we'd hoped to report today. Lots more details in our press release from this afternoon.

Food safety - and BPA - getting close to a vote

It sounds like a vote on the Food Safety Modernization Act (AKA the food safety bill) currently in the U.S. Senate should be coming up for a vote this week, and along with it an amendment by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to ban bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles and sippy cups.

This could be huge. Because of the strong science linking BPA to increased breast cancer risk (it's a synthetic estrogen, after all), the Breast Cancer Fund has been helping Sen. Feinstein create a proposal that would protect the most vulnerable among us: young children. The result, we hope, will be a law that eliminates a critical source of exposure linked to the disease.

We'll keep you posted on the vote!

Formaldehyde prompts Brazilian Blowout recall effort, Calif. AG lawsuit

Those smooth, straight locks promised by expensive salon applications of a product called Brazilian Blowout sound like a dream come true for many women. In actuality, Brazilian Blowout products recently tested by Oregon OSHA and Health Canada were as much as 8 to 12 percent formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen. While we don't have evidence of a breast cancer connection, formaldehyde is linked to leukemia, lung cancer, nasal cancer, asthma, miscarriage and other serious or life-threatening health problems. Even the cosmetics industry's own safety panel recommends formaldehyde concentration in cosmetics not to exceed 0.2 percent.

Though the governments of Canada and Ireland were quick to act on the Brazilian Blowout tests, the U.S. FDA hasn't done a thing. On Tuesday our Campaign for Safe Cosmetics launched a public effort to convince the FDA to issue a voluntary recall (the agency can't issue a mandatory recall under current law) of Brazilian Blowout products.

And yesterday the California Attorney General's office filed a lawsuit against California-based Brazilian Blowout for violating Prop. 65 and falsely claiming its products to be "safe" and even labeling some "formaldehyde free."

According to California Watch, the lawsuit also "marks the first time the state has sued to enforce reporting requirements under its safe cosmetics law, a novel system requiring cosmetics makers to submit reports about harmful chemicals."

That "novel" law was the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005, the Breast Cancer Fund's first major victory in our work for safe cosmetics. Today we're cheering that the law that we - and you - helped pass is, in turn, helping California protect its citizens.

Now, five years later, we have our sights set on passing the federal Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010, which will protect all Americans from toxic products like Brazilian Blowout. In the meantime, join our recall effort!

Jeanne Rizzo to speak at TEDx - watch live this Saturday!

On Saturday, November 6, Breast Cancer Fund President and CEO Jeanne Rizzo will speak at a very special TEDx event on plastic pollution. Jeanne, who will talk about plastic and its connections to breast cancer, will be among other prominent thought leaders, innovators and artists who will share what they know, explore solutions and present plans for action.

The event will be broadcast live on the TEDx Web site from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Jeanne's talk will occur during the Plastic Pollution and Public Health segment from 11:10 to 11:55 a.m., along with talks by Arlene Blum, Ken Cook and Stacy Malkan. Bring friends together and join in this historic event by hosting a watch party!