Major health and environment organizations call on government to eliminate
public exposure to BPA
Scientific evidence links low doses to cancer, diabetes, obesity, and adverse effects on reproduction and brain development
OTTAWA, Nov. 1 /CNW/ - Thirteen of Canada's leading health and environmental organizations released a joint statement today calling on the federal government to eliminate key sources of public exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), citing links between even low exposures to the chemical and major chronic diseases.
"We have reviewed the scientific literature which includes dozens of animal studies and some human studies. Robust scientific evidence links low-dose BPA exposure with increased risks for breast, prostate and testicular cancers, altered reproductive function, altered metabolism of sugars and fats linked to obesity and diabetes, and adverse effects on the developing brain," said Kathleen Cooper, Senior Researcher with the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
"The scientific evidence warns us that endocrine disrupting chemicals like BPA may have lifelong impacts when exposure happens during vulnerable stages of development, especially in the womb," says Dr. Lynn Marshall, family physician and President of the Environmental Health Institute of Canada.
"The evidence about chemicals like BPA suggests a need to broaden our chronic disease prevention efforts to include chemical exposures among the multiple risk factors for chronic disease," says Liz Haugh, President of the Ontario Public Health Association.
The signatory organizations acknowledge that Canada's designation of BPA as toxic under federal law is a good first step and are calling for immediate action. In five recommendations, their statement calls for an end to all food- and beverage-related uses of BPA as well as legislative reforms to improve the testing and regulation of endocrine-disrupting substances and to require disclosure of known endocrine disruptors on product labels.
Focus on Bisphenol A: Statement of Health and Environmental Organizations on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals is available, in English and French, at: http://www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/.
For further information:
Kathleen Cooper, Canadian Environmental Law Association, (705) 341-2488
Dr. Lynn Marshall, Environmental Health Institute of Canada, (905) 845-3462; (416) 526-4576
Connie Uetrecht, Ontario Public Health Association, (416) 367-3313, x 226
Erica Phipps, Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment, (212) 874-0257
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