Connecticut Ignores Worldwide Body of Scientific Evidence and Limits Consumer Choice
PRNewsWire News Releases
Published: 06/05/09 03:59 PM EDT
Released By:
American Chemistry Council
ARLINGTON, Va., June 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today Connecticut passed restrictions on bisphenol A (BPA). The state action will halt the manufacture and sale of most baby food in jars and infant formula in cans, as well as prohibit the manufacture and sale of baby bottles and sippy cups made with shatter-resistant polycarbonate plastics containing BPA. Connecticut chose, despite a worldwide consensus among regulatory agencies that BPA can be safely used in food contact products, to adopt restrictions that will significantly limit consumer choice and not improve public health.
Within the last year, eleven regulatory bodies around the world assessed the science on BPA and determined that BPA is safe for use in food contact products, including products that now will be banned in Connecticut. These regulatory bodies include: the European Union, European Food Safety Authority, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, French Food Safety Authority and Swiss Office for Public Health.
The law does not promote health or safety. It hurts Connecticut businesses that can no longer manufacture these highly valued products and Connecticut consumers who will no longer find them on store shelves.
BPA is used primarily to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, both of which are used in a wide range of common consumer products. From baby bottles to bicycle helmets, and eyeglass lenses to components of life-saving medical devices, products made from polycarbonate plastic can continue to be safely used today.
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The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products and services that make people’s lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health and safety performance through Responsible Care(R), common sense advocacy designed to address major public policy issues, and health and environmental research and product testing. The business of chemistry is a $689 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation’s economy. It is one of the nation’s largest exporters, accounting for ten cents out of every dollar in U.S. exports. Chemistry companies are among the largest investors in research and development. Safety and security have always been primary concerns of ACC members, and they have intensified their efforts, working closely with government agencies to improve security and to defend against any threat to the nation’s critical infrastructure.
SOURCE American Chemistry Council
And here’s the latest research:
BPA may cause heart disease in women, research shows
CINCINNATI—New research by a team of scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that bisphenol A (BPA) may be harmful for the heart, particularly in women.
Results of several studies are being presented in Washington, D.C., at ENDO 09, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, June 10-13.
A research team lead by Scott Belcher, PhD, Hong Sheng Wang, PhD, and Jo El Schultz, PhD, in the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics, found that exposure to BPA and/or estrogen causes abnormal activity in hearts of female rats and mice.
In addition, these researchers found that estrogen receptors are responsible for this affect in heart muscle cells.
“There is broad exposure to bisphenol A, despite recognition that BPA can have harmful effects,” Belcher says. “We had reason to believe that harmful cardiovascular affects can be added to the list.”
BPA, an environmental pollutant with estrogen activity, is used to make hard, clear plastic and is common in many food product containers. It has been linked to neurological defects, diabetes and breast and prostate cancer.
Using live cultures of cells isolated from rat or mouse hearts, researchers briefly exposed the cardiac cells to BPA and/or estrogen. Both compounds caused striking changes in the activity of cardiac muscle cells from females but not males. Additional studies revealed that these cellular changes in activity caused improperly controlled beating in the female heart.
“Low doses of BPA markedly increased the frequency of arrhythmic events,” Belcher says. “The effect of BPA on these cardiac arrhythmias was amplified when exposed to estradiol, the major estrogen hormone in humans.”
The mechanism underlying this harmful effect was investigated using cellular imaging techniques.
“BPA and/or estrogen rapidly stimulated contraction by altering control of the concentrations of free calcium inside the heart cell but only in heart muscle cells from females, showing that these effects were sex-specific,” Belcher says. “BPA’s presence increased the frequency of calcium ‘sparks’ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum—the part of the cardiac muscle that stores and releases calcium ions—indicating spontaneous release or ‘leak’ that’s likely causing the heart arrhythmias and may have other harmful actions, especially following heart attack.”
Belcher and colleagues also investigated the nature of the mechanisms that mediated the responses of the cardiac muscle cells to estrogen and BPA.
“Pharmacological studies using selective estrogen receptor drugs and animal models lacking estrogen receptors were used to investigate the role of each estrogen receptor in mediating the rapid sex-specific function effects of E2 and BPA in cells,” he says. “Our findings suggest that estrogen has opposing actions in cardiac cells.
“In female cardiac muscle cells, the blocking or genetic removal of estrogen receptor beta completely blocked the contractile effects of BPA and estrogen, while in males, blockade of the effects of estrogen receptor alpha caused the male heart to become more ‘female-like’ and become responsive to estrogen and BPA.
“These studies have identified new and important potential cardiac risks associated with BPA exposure that may be especially important for women’s heart health,” he says.
Connecticut’s juvenile court caseloads shrank by a third in the past four years as prevention and early intervention are paying off, according to a national report. The report, Turning It Around: Successes and Opportunities in Juvenile Justice, was released today by the National Juvenile Justice Network and the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance. It reviews reforms since 1993, when advocates sued the state over unsafe conditions – including children being denied medical care and education and being locked in cells for days, with no opportunity to use a toilet.
Today the state’s progress in juvenile justice reform makes it a national model, according to the report. “Connecticut has shifted from merely containing youth to addressing the issues that led them to get into trouble,” said Sarah Bryer, director of the National Juvenile Justice Network. “The state now recognizes that most children can be helped in their own communities rather than in expensive residential facilities. That’s better for youth and certainly better for taxpayers.
Much of the progress in the juvenile justice system is linked to the decriminalization of “status offenses,” such as running away and truancy. Family Support Centers have diverted these youth from court. Some of this progress could be in jeopardy under Governor Rell’s proposed budget. However, most families don’t have access to these centers. The Appropriations Committee budget includes additional centers.
The Appropriations plan also would return 16-year-olds to juvenile court in 2010, in partial compliance with the Raise the Age initiative passed in 2007. Connecticut is one of only three states to automatically prosecute 16-year-olds as adults.
As the report cited above noted: “Connecticut itself is currently considering deferring some of the reforms to which it has already committed. This would not only constitute a break in faith with the state’s youth. It would also be counterproductive to a state trying to revive its economy and limit its expenses.”
Several themes emerge from the in-depth review:
Services are effective when provided early and in the least restrictive setting.
Evidence-based practice (programming validated by research) works better.
Youth are best served when state agencies collaborate.
“The report shows we’re on the right path,” said Abby Anderson, executive director of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance. “Now we must continue on that path.”
Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) held a press conference discussing the Paycheck Fairness Act. Dodd, Mikulski and DeLauro were joined at the event by supporters of the bill, including representatives from National Women’s Law Center and the American Association of University Women.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would require employers to demonstrate that wage gaps between men and women doing the same work have a business justification and are truly a result of factors other than gender. The bill would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers. Additionally, the Paycheck Fairness Act strengthens the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ability to help women achieve pay equity by requiring DOL to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities and to continue to collect and disseminate wage information based on gender. The bill would also create a competitive grant program to provide negotiation skills training programs for girls and women.
“In Connecticut, women are paid only 76 cents to every dollar that men are paid,” Dodd said. “That’s not only discrimination- it’s robbery. Over a lifetime, that can cost $400,000 to $2 million in lost wages, pensions and Social Security benefits. The time has come to level the playing field once and for all – to insist that women be paid what they deserve.”
“To truly close the wage gap between men and women we must face gender discrimination head-on and eliminate the systemic discrimination faced by women. We can do that with the Paycheck Fairness Act,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “The House of Representatives has already passed it. And with Senators Chris Dodd and Barbara Mikulski in the Senate – two tenacious leaders who know a thing or two about passing legislation into law – and dedicated advocates all across America standing up for equal pay, we will get this done. We will pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, send it President Obama for his signature and give teeth to the Equal Pay Act and make certain that women have the tools they need to get equal pay for equal work.”
Over the past several years, the Republican Party has lost its way. Despite a long tradition of promoting individual responsibility, freedom of enterprise, and self-determination, we became a party of fiscal ambivalence, massive national debt, and larger government.
In the process, we have seen moderates defect, independents find a home among the Democrats, and young voters grow an increasing aversion to all things bearing our name.
Gregory, a non-profit executive and former McCain staffer, spoke of his experience on the McCain campaign and the need for Republicans to develop a stronger bond with young voters. “Something was wrong and it was obvious. While the Obama campaign, and Democrats generally, had fostered the enthusiasm, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship of their young contributors (i.e. — most outreach strategists and speech writers were in their 20s), we had become rigid and stale,” said Gregory.
I have to admit, it is an awful lot of fun to see a Republican saying what we all know – but how this will win him a nomination or election is beyond me.
State and municipal spending is leaner in Connecticut than most states when measured against the overall state economy… according to a University of Connecticut report released Monday.
In 2006, Connecticut was 47th of 50 states in the percentage of state and local government spending as a part of its gross domestic product, the value of goods and services produced in Connecticut.
From the Hartford Courant: Steven P. Lanza, The Connecticut Economy’s executive editor, said that the state should be “rightly proud” of where it stands compared with other states.
But its “bottom-of-the-barrel” spending also poses a problem in today’s fiscal climate, he said.
“When you start pretty lean,” he said, “there’s not a lot of places to cut.”
Connecticut has the capacity to solve these fiscal problems and address our state’s needs, but it is not meeting the challenge. In 2006, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ranked Connecticut highest among all states in “fiscal capacity,” our ability to meet our state’s spending needs given our tax capacity. Yet we lag behind other states in how much we invest as a percentage of our state’s personal income:
• On investing in Connecticut’s infrastructure through state and local capital spending, and spending on highways and natural resources, Connecticut ranks lowest (50th);
• On state and local total direct spending, Connecticut ranks 2nd lowest (49th);
• On state and local spending on all education and on higher education, Connecticut ranks 4th lowest (47th);
• On assistance to Connecticut’s most vulnerable populations, Connecticut’s state and local spending on public welfare ranks 5th lowest (46th).
Connecticut’s current budget is already under-funded in multiple ways. The budget fails to fund municipal grants (including the Education Cost Sharing and the Payment in Lieu of Taxes grants) at the levels required by state law and falls short of restoring many of the budget cuts of recent years.
What’s more, public investment has not kept pace with growth in the state’s economy during a period of dire need for increased public investment in transportation, education, housing, health care, and environmental protection.
Cutting the budget even further is a recipe for disaster.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been roundly criticized in recent days for her participation in a decision in an employment reverse discrimination case involving New Haven firefighters.
In September 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Atherton issued a lengthy opinion in which she dismissed the firefighters reverse discrimination claims and found for the city of New Haven. Judge Atherton’s opinion rejecting the firefighters’ claim of reverse discrimination was a clear and thorough explication of existing law.
The firefighters appealed the case to the Second Circuit. Judge Sotomayor was one of three Second Circuit judges selected to serve on a panel to hear the case. The three judges also admired Judge Atherton’s decision, so much so, that they declined to issue an extensive decision themselves:
We affirm, for the reasons stated in the thorough, thoughtful, and well-reasoned opinion of the court below. Ricci v. DeStefano, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73277, 2006 WL 2828419 (D.Conn., Sept. 28, 2006). In this case, the Civil Service Board found itself in the unfortunate position of having no good alternatives. We are not unsympathetic to the plaintiffs’ expression of frustration. Mr. Ricci, for example, who is dyslexic, made intensive efforts that appear to have resulted in his scoring highly on one of the exams, only to have it invalidated. But it simply does not follow that he has a viable Title VII claim. To the contrary, because the Board, in refusing to validate the exams, was simply trying to fulfill its obligations under Title VII when confronted with test results that had a disproportionate racial impact, its actions were protected.
Now, it may strike some as unfair to reject the results of an employment exam because members of minority groups do not do well on the exam, but the law is the law – employment test results with disparate impact on minorities can and perhaps should be rejected (at least for now – until the strict constructionists on the Supreme Court change it, no doubt to the delight of all those conservatives who detest and denounce activist judges).
Here is the heart of Judge Atherton’s opinion. It is well worth the read.
Senator Christopher Dodd finally comes around, in an op-ed in the New London Day: This week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will put forward a historic health care reform proposal. As a senior member of that committee, I’ve been asked by its chairman, Sen. Edward Kennedy, to help lead these efforts, working with President Barack Obama and our congressional colleagues.
For me, the bottom line is that we need to preserve the ability for people to choose their own doctors, hospitals, and insurance plans. If you like what you have, you can keep it; if you don’t, you’ll finally have affordable options available to you. In my view, that must include a public health insurance option in addition to private options…
That is why a top priority for me will be putting an end to unfair practices that make insurance unaffordable or unattainable for American families. No longer will people be denied coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition such as a heart attack, cancer, or because they were a victim of domestic violence. And the days of rescinding a policy after it has already been issued will be over.
We have tried to do this before – in 1994 – but were unsuccessful because we had a host of opposition lined up against us. Today, some of the very same people who torpedoed those efforts are now at the table, sharing ideas and proposing solutions for our health care crisis.
This is the moment for health care reform…
This should do wonders for his popularity in Connecticut!
Thomas Henkelmann Takes Top Food, Decor and Service for Fifth Straight Year
Fairfield Eateries Prominently Mentioned
The troubled economy is changing the ways that Connecticut restaurant-goers dine out, according to Zagat’s 2009/10 Connecticut Restaurants survey, released today in hardcopy and on ZAGAT.com. The survey finds that while nearly half of locals’ meals are prepared outside of the home, 78% of diners are making cost-saving adjustments such as eating out less, being more attentive to prices, eating in less expensive places, skipping appetizers and desserts or going easy on their alcohol consumption.
Over 4,000 surveyors contributed their opinions to the new guide, which covers 894 eateries in Connecticut and nearby areas of New York State and the Berkshires. Restaurant ratings and reviews are available in print, on ZAGAT.com and via ZAGAT TO GO(TM) – Zagat’s mobile application for iPhone, BlackBerry and PDAs.
Bargain Bin: In response to budget-conscious crowds, the Connecticut restaurant scene is bustling with prix fixe menus and other attractive values. Top restaurants like Jean-Louis are drawing diners with a $30 prix fixe lunch, and others as low as $15 can be found at Saint Tropez Bistro and Sole Ristorante. For diners looking to get the most for their money, the new Zagat guide includes an extensive list of “Best Bang for the Buck” restaurants that offer high value, with low prices and stellar food reviews. This year’s top Bang for the Buck is Super Duper Weenie, a Fairfield hot dog joint that surveyors say is “best-in-show.” Following close behind are the “retro diner” Shady Glen, and perennial “classic” Firehouse Deli, which also promise great fare at reasonable prices.
Health Nut: Despite the affinity for chain restaurants, an overwhelming majority of Connecticut diners consider it important for menus to offer low-carb, low-fat and heart-healthy items (72%), and believe that trans- fats should be banned from food preparation in restaurants (70%). They are also willing to put money where their mouths are: Over half of surveyors would pay more for food that is organic (52%) or sustainably raised/procured (54%). Despite this dedication to healthy dining, a surprising 60% of surveyors are not fans of the recent laws to post calorie counts on menus.
Dollars and Cents: Connecticut diners have the most affordable dining in the region with an average meal cost of $37.71 – a 1.8% increase from last year. While this is above the national average of $34.49, it is well below the nearby Westchester/Hudson Valley region ($38.99), New York City ($40.78) and New Jersey ($39.24).
In Vino Veritas: Although 18% of surveyors are cutting back on alcohol to save money while dining out, a hearty 86% still wine while they dine. To lure oenophiles, BYO restaurants continue to pop up and some, like Rowayton’s River Cat Grill, are waiving corkage fees. In a similar spirit, Doc’s (which recently relocated to Kent) reduced corkage fees from $25 to $15, while Little Thai Kitchen and Thai Spice charge a nominal $4.95.
Winners: For the fifth straight year, Thomas Henkelmann swept the competition, winning for Top Food, Decor and Service. Since opening in 1997, the restaurant, headed by husband-wife team Thomas and Theresa Henkelmann, has repeatedly proven itself to local diners as “extraordinary” and “ethereal.” The funky, New American Woodward House in Bethlehem made an impressive leap to No. 2 in the Top Service list, up from No. 24. And taking the prize for Most Popular this year is New Haven’s Frank Pepe, whose celebrated pizzas has earned it “non-stop crowds” for generations.
