Young minds at risk

LAURA VANDENBERG and Maricel Maffini make a compelling case in their op-ed ("The chemical in your baby's bottle," March 23) for a ban on bisphenol A in baby products. The chemical is in everything from baby bottles and other plastics to canned food containers. Its proven health impacts include early onset puberty, obesity, genital malformations, and breast and prostate cancer. As the largest advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state, we are particularly concerned with what the authors call the "alterations in brain development" that may be caused by BPA. Research shows a connection between BPA and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but further correlations between BPA and cognitive disabilities have yet to be established. Nonetheless, let's not forget the histories of lead and mercury, in which our government failed to act despite overwhelming evidence of health impacts with tragic consequences.

LEO V. SARKISSIAN
Walpole

The writer is executive director of The Arc of Massachusetts.