Bisphenol A

Our modern-day environment is loaded with man-made chemicals. We breath car exhaust, gasoline fumes and secondhand smoke, and we eat food laced with pesticides and plasticizers and cooked in pans with nonstick coatings. We use cosmetics on our skin, cleaning products in our houses and lawn products in our yards. We decorate our homes and clothe our kids with flame-retardant fabrics. And we drink municipal water that contains traces of pharmaceuticals and other chemicals. What's the health fallout of this?

Federal officials have fired a consulting company that was responsible for reviewing the dangers of chemicals for a government health institute while also working for chemical companies. Sciences International of Alexandria, Va., had been a major contractor for the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction for eight years. The federal center is responsible for determining which chemicals can harm human reproduction or fetal development.

A controversial Assembly bill that would have banned two toxic compounds in plastic baby products died Thursday after supporters could not round up enough support from members of the Appropriations Committee.

THIRTEEN-MONTH-OLD Solange Dorsainvil plays with toys made from wood and cloth, drinks from a Swiss-made aluminum sippy cup and teethes on kale stems and celery. Her life is as plastic-free as her mother, Celina Lyons, can make it. Celina, a Berkeley-based acupuncturist, has become increasingly worried about the possible toxic effects of plastics. "I remember hearing -- I don't remember when -- that my Nalgene [water] bottle was no longer safe," Lyons said.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, widely known as a nice person, flexed some muscle Monday: She punished the sole Assembly Democrat who refused to vote Sunday evening for a state spending plan drafted by fellow Democrats. Bass (D-Los Angeles) ordered Assemblywoman Nicole Parra of Hanford out of her fifth-floor Capitol office and into an office building across the street where legislative staffers work. "They wanted us to have everything packed up by 4 p.m.," said Parra's chief of staff, Derek Chernow, as he ripped packing tape to seal a box of office supplies.

The National Institutes of Health has temporarily suspended a federal contractor that had been reviewing the health dangers of chemicals for the government while also working for the chemical industry. In addition, the NIH will convene a new advisory panel to investigate all toxicology program contracts for conflicts of interest and report back by July 1. For eight years, Sciences International, an Alexandria, Va.

Re "State moves to ban BPA," June 3 Connecticut has just become the first state to ban the toxic chemical bisphenol A, commonly dubbed BPA, from baby food cans and plastic containers. A similar measure, introduced by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) also passed the California Senate by a narrow margin last week. Californians should thank Pavley for standing up to the mega-chemical industry. BPA is a synthetic hormone used in plastic containers and lining metal cans of food and baby formula.

Scientists on Tuesday debated the health risks of two chemicals found in plastic baby products as California legislators consider a bill that would make the state the only place in the world to restrict one of the compounds, which has been shown in some studies to mimic female hormones and possibly interfere with boys' reproductive development.

Is there really a connection between drinking juices out of aluminum cans and developing Alzheimer's disease? It is unlikely that drinking fruit or vegetable juice from aluminum cans would increase the risk of Alzheimer's. Aluminum cans are coated with a plastic lining to prevent corrosion and protect juice from acquiring a metallic flavor. These liners are not completely innocuous, we fear. Many of them contain bisphenol A (BPA), a compound that mimics estrogen. A December analysis in Consumer Reports notes that some juice and canned foods contain measurable amounts of BPA. :: Is there an exercise that helps relieve vertigo?