WisBusiness: UWM survey shows support for BPA ban

By WisBusiness Staff

A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee survey shows widsespread support in the Milwaukee area for a ban on Bisphenol A among those who have heard of the chemical.

Several studies suggest the FDA-approved chemical, used in a variety of plastic products, poses health risks, particularly in young children. Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, and Rep. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, have sponsored legislation to ban BPA from baby bottles and children’s cups.

The survey of 946 adults in the four-county metropolitan Milwaukee area found that 63 percent of respondents had heard “a lot” or “a little” about BPA, and of those, 67 percent said they supported banning its use in household products. Eighty-one percent of those who heard of the chemical supported banning its use in baby bottles, while 77 percent supported banning it from children’s toys.

The issue has received considerable attention in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The researchers who conducted the study, UWM Journalism and Mass Communications Professors Paul Brewer and Barbara Ley, found that those who regularly read daily newspapers were more likely than those who said they never read daily newspapers to be aware of BPA, but they were no more likely to support banning it.

The telephone survey was conducted from December 1 to March 26 by the Institute for Survey and Policy Research at UWM. The margin of error for the full sample was plus or minus 3.5 percent.

See a press release on the study