The EPA isn't yet proposing regulation to ban or restrict the chemical, which more than one million pounds of which are released into the environment yearly, by its estimates. But in making this announcement the agency joins the FDA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in sending a strong signal to industry that the red carpet ride may at least be getting a little bumpy.
In the meantime we consumers need to keep making a great big noisy fuss lest these nascent signs of backbone devolve quietly into jelly again.
That means don't buy things that may have BPA in them if you can avoid it. Use the cosmetic safety database (www.skindeep.com) to vet your toiletries, cosmetics, and personal care products. Ask the managers of stores where you shop to look into whether their receipt paper is coated with BPA and if it is ask them to switch.
Wielding the proverbial power of the pocketbook can make a difference. And so, of course, can badgering your legislators. They love to hear from us voters!