U.S. lawmakers on Friday introduced legislation to ban the toxic chemical Bisphenol A from all food and beverage containers because of the fact that the substance is thought to be harmful for any human development. The bills, introduced by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), would greatly expand efforts to limit the chemical from products for young children.

Leaders from the House of Representatives and the Senate announced legislation to establish the federal ban on Bisphenol A. Their bills would immediately outlaw the sale of all food and drink containers made with BPA. Anything on store shelves would have to be removed. It would suspend the manufacture of food packaged in containers that contain the chemical, but items already made could be sold.

The move comes a day after Sunoco, the gas and chemical company, sent word to investors that it was now refusing to sell Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, to companies for use in food and water containers for children younger than 3. Sunoco told investors it could not be certain of the compound's safety.

"We will no longer sell BPA to customers who cannot make this promise," Thomas Golembeski, head of public relations, wrote in a letter to two investors.

However the Philadelphia-based Sunoco is a relatively small player in the market for BPA, which is used to make everything from CDs to pipes to glasses frames. Larger producers include the Dow Chemical Co., Bayer and Hexion Specialty Chemicals.
Tests have found toxic levels of Bisphenol A in products, including those marked as "microwave safe." Moreover the chemical can cause breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm count, miscarriage and a host of other reproductive problems in laboratory animals.