Firms won't sell plastic baby bottles

HARTFORD, Conn., March 6 (UPI) -- Six firms have agreed to stop selling plastic baby bottles in the United States made with a chemical suspected of harming human development, an official says.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the accord involves bottles sold by Playtex Products, Inc., Gerber, EvenFlo Co., Avent America, Inc., Dr. Brown and Disney First Years, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

The shatter-proof polycarbonate bottles contain the chemical bisphenol A which health officials warn mimics the hormonal activity of estrogen and can alter the normal workings of genes.

The baby products industry has argued that bisphenol A levels in humans were too low to cause damage.

However, studies in lab animals indicate that even small amounts of bisphyenol A can damage brain and reproductive systems, alter mammary and prostate glands and lead to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Blumenthal has called for legislation that would further restrict the chemical in baby products.