36th District Representative Mary Lou Dickerson (D) is the primary sponsor of a bill which calls to ban the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from bottles, cups and other containers that young children drink from. It also calls for a ban of BPA from sports bottles, which pregnant women use. (Bill text here. pdf)
The state house vote was nearly-unanimous yesterday to ban the chemical, moving the bill on to the State Senate. “I’m proud we united 95 to 1 to protect babies and young children from BPA-laced food containers,” said Dickerson (D-Seattle). “The strong support for this bill reflects the overwhelming evidence that kids need to be protected against this very toxic substance.” Representative Bruce Chandler (R-Granger) was the lone nay in the House. Two representatives were excused from the vote.
After the first reading in the State Senate today, the bill has been referred to Health & Long-Term Care. If this bill passes, Washington state will be the third state to ban BPA, following Minnesota and Connecticut.