Entering a BPA- and Copper-Free Washington

Governor Gregoire today signed bills that will eventually eliminate the use of copper in brakes and the industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA). Copper undergoes a timed phaseout, so that by 2021, copper can make up no more than five percent of your brakes. The Seattle Times says the ban on BPA in children's containers begins July 1, 2011. Your sports bottle willl be BPA-free as of July 1, 2012.

In both cases, Washington is in the forefront of states taking strong action--we're the first state to ban copper in brakes, reports Sightline, and the Washington Toxics Coalition says we're only the second state to ban BPA.

Sightline explains why the free roadside copper is not such a good deal:

Copper is a problem because it flakes off brakes and winds up on roadways, where stormwater runoff washes it into streams and rivers. Salmon and other aquatic life are harmed by even very low concentrations of copper--and the state estimates that between 70,000 and 320,000 pounds of copper are being washed into Puget Sound each year.

The copper ban includes a few other elements you don't want in your drinking water: "Starting 2014, brake pads containing more than trace amounts of cadmium, chromium, asbestos, lead and mercury will not be permissible for sale in the state of Washington."

BPA is currently used in the manufacture of a number of hard plastic products, including water bottles and dishes, despite that fact that it leaches from the plastic over time and ends up in people (CDC researchers found BPA in 95 percent of a 400-person study). A suspected hormone disrupter, it may be the causative agent for a number of developmental problems, even at low doses.