Please Explain: BPA

Bisphenol-A, known as BPA, is an important building block of several plastics and plastic additives. Concern about the use of BPA in consumer products has been growing, and questions about its safety and its effect of human health have led some retailers to remove products made of it from their shelves; some states, cities, and even countries have even banned its use altogether. On today’s edition of Please Explain, we’ll look into what the studies of BPA show, why the scientific community continues to be divided over exactly what levels of BPA are harmful to human health, and how the Food and Drug Administration has handled consumer concern over BPA. We’ll speak with Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Consumer Report's GreenerChoices.org and and Consumers Union's Director of Technical Policy. She'll be joined by Meg Kissinger, investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has been writing the series Chemical Fallout."