Lawsuit Filed Over Safety of Plastics Chemical Bisphenol A

May 2008

The chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is facing another set of challenges. After recent reports about the chemical’s link to health problems, an Arkansas mother has filed a federal lawsuit against Playtex Products, Inc., accusing them of making dangerous plastic baby bottles with the toxic chemical.

The lawsuit seeks nationwide class action status to represent what it claims are thousands of consumers who bought plastic bottles containing bisphenol A from Playtex and other manufacturers. The lawsuit alleges that hundreds of studies and reports have demonstrated that BPA can be toxic even at extremely low doses. The lawsuit claims that Playtex has not adequately disclosed that its plastic bottles are made using the chemical and seeks damages to be determined at trial along with a finding that the company violated the law.

More than 6 million pounds of bisphenol A are produced in the United States each year, and the hazardous chemical can be found in baby bottles, eyeglasses, dental sealants, the liners of food cans, CDs and DVDs, and hundreds of household products. The U.S. government’s National Toxicology Program reported last month that there is "some concern" about BPA based on animal experiments that linked the chemical to alterations in behavior and the brain, early puberty, and possibly precancerous transformations in the prostate and breast. The chemicals industry says that polycarbonate bottles contain little BPA and leach levels considered too low to pose a safety risk to humans.