local tv news show saying he hoped to repeal the ban because, "there hasn't been any science that identifies that there is a problem" and added: "the only thing that i've heard is if you take a plastic bottle and put it in the microwave and you heat it up, it gives off a chemical similar to estrogen. so the worst case is some women may have little beards." in april 2011, the maine legislature passed a bill to ban the use of bpa in baby bottles, sippy cups, and other reusable food and beverage containers, effective 1 january 2012. governor lepage refused to sign the bill. in october 2011, california banned bpa from baby bottles and toddlers' drinking cups, effective 1 july 2013. by 2011, 26 states had proposed legislation that would ban certain uses of bpa. many bills died in committee. in july 2011, the american medical association (ama) declared feeding products for babies and infants that contain bpa should be banned. it recommended better federal oversight of bpa and clear labeling of products containing it. it stressed the importance of the fda to "actively incorporate current science into the regulation of food and beverage bpa-containing products." in 2012, the fda concluded an assessment of scientific research on the effects of bpa and stated in the march 2012 consumer update that "the scientific evidence at this time does not suggest that the very low levels of human exposure to bpa through the diet are unsafe" although recognizing "potential uncertainties in the overall interpretation of these studies including route of exposure used in the studies and the relevance of animal models to human health. the fda is continuing to pursue additional research to resolve these uncertainties." yet on 17 july 2012, the fda banned bpa from baby bottles and sippy cups. a fda spokesman said the agency's action was not based on safety concerns and that "the agency continues to support the safety of bpa for use in products that hold food." since manufacturers had already stopped using the chemical in baby bottles and sippy cups, the decision was a response to a request by the american chemistry council, the chemical industry's main trade association, who believed that a ban would boost consumer confidence. the ban was criticized as "purely cosmetic" by the environmental working group, which stated that "if the agency truly wants to prevent people from being exposed to this toxic chemical associated with a variety of serious and chronic conditions it should ban its use in cans of infant formula, food and beverages." the natural resources defense council called the move inadequate saying, the fda needs to ban bpa from all food packaging. as of 2014, 12 states have banned bpa from children's bottles and feeding containers. environmental regulation in the united states on 30 december 2009 epa released a so-called action plan for four chemicals, including bpa, which would have added it to the list of "chemicals of concern" regulated under the toxic substances control act. in february 2010, after lobbyists for the chemical industry had met with administration officials, the epa delayed bpa regulation by not including the chemical. on 29 march 2010, epa published a revised action plan for bpa as "chemical of concern". in october 2010 an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for bpa testing was published in the federal register july 2011. after more than 3 years at the office of information and regulatory affairs (oira), part of the office of management and budget (omb), which has to review draft proposals within 3 months, oira had not done so. in september 2013 epa withdrew its 2010 draft bpa rule. saying the rule was "no longer necessary", because epa was taking a different track at looking at chemicals, a so-called "work plan" of more than 80 chemicals for risk assessment and risk reduction. another proposed rule that epa withdrew would have limited industry's claims of confidential business information (cbi) for the health and safety studies needed, when new chemicals are submitted under tsca for review. the epa said it continued "to try to reduce unwarranted claims of confidentiality and has taken a number of significant steps that have had dramatic results... tightening policies for cbi claims and declassifying unwarranted confidentiality claims, challenging companies to review existing cbi claims to ensure that they are still valid and providing easier and enhanced access to a wider array of information." the chemical industry group american chemistry council commended epa for "choosing a course of action that will ultimately strengthen the performance of the nation's primary chemical management law." richard denison, senior scientist with the environmental defense fund, commented "both rules were subject to intense opposition and lobbying from the chemical industry" and "faced presumably with the reality that was never going to let epa even propose the rules for public comment, epa decided to withdraw them." on 29 january 2014 epa released a final alternatives assessment for bpa in thermal paper as part of its design for the environment program. chemical manufacturers reactions to bans in march 2009 the six largest u.s. producers of baby bottles decided to stop using bisphenol a in their products. the same month sunoco, a producer of gasoline and chemicals, refused to sell bpa to companies for use in food and water containers for children younger than 3, saying it could not be certain of the compound's safety. in may 2009, lyndsey layton from the washington post accused manufacturers of food and beverage containers and some of their biggest customers of the public relations and lobbying strategy to block government bpa bans. she noted that, "despite more than 100 published studies by government scientists and university laboratories that have raised health concerns about the chemical, the food and drug administration has deemed it safe largely because of two studies, both funded by a chemical industry trade group". in august 2009 the milwaukee journal sentinel investigative series into bpa and its effects showed the society of the plastics industry plans of a major public relations blitz to promote bpa, including plans to attack and discredit those who report or comment negatively on bpa and its effects. bpa free, unknown substitute the chemical industry over time responded to criticism of bpa by promoting "bpa-free" products. for example, in 2010, general mills announced it had found a "bpa-free alternative" can liner that works with tomatoes. it said it would begin using the bpa-free alternative in tomato products sold by its organic foods subsidiary muir glen with that year's tomato harvest. as of 2014, general mills has refused to state which alternative chemical it uses, and whether it uses it on any of its other canned products. bpa free, epoxyfree a minority of companies have stated what alternative compound(s) they use. following an inquiry by representative edward markey (d-mass) seventeen companies replied saying they were going bpa-free, including campbell soup company and general mills inc. none of the companies said they are or were going to use bisphenol s; only four stated the alternative to bpa that they will be using. conagra stated in 2013 "alternate liners for tomatoes are vinyl...new aerosol cans are lined with polyester resin". eden foods stated that only their "beans are canned with a liner of an oleoresinous c-enamel that does not contain the endocrine disruptor bpa. oleoresin is a mixture of oil and resin extracted from plants such as pine or balsam fir". hain celestial group will use "modified polyester and/ or acrylic … by june 2014 for our canned soups, beans, and vegetables". heinz stated in 2011 it "intend to replace epoxy linings in all our food containers…. we have prioritized baby foods", and in 2012 "no bpa in any plastic containers we use". bpa substitute bps some "bpa free" plastics are made from epoxy containing a compound called bisphenol s (bps). bps shares a similar structure and versatility to bpa and has been used in numerous products from currency to thermal receipt paper. widespread human exposure to bps was confirmed in an analysis of urine samples taken in the u.s., japan, china, and five other asian countries. researchers found bps in all the receipt paper, 87 percent of the paper currency and 52 percent of recycled paper they tested. the study found that people may be absorbing 19 times more bps through their skin than the amount of bpa they absorbed, when it was more widely used. in a 2011 study researchers looked at 455 common plastic products and found that 70% tested positive for estrogenic activity. after the products had been washed or microwaved the proportion rose to 95%. the study concluded: "almost all commercially available plastic products we sampled, independent of the type of resin, product, or retail source, leached chemicals having reliably-detectable ea , including those advertised as bpa-free. in some cases, bpa-free products released chemicals having more ea than bpa-containing products." a systematic review published in 2015 found that "based on the current literature, bps and bpf are as hormonally active as bpa, and have endocrine disrupting effects." phenol-based substitutes among potential substitutes for bpa, phenol-based chemicals closely related to bpa have been identified. the non-extensive list includes bisphenol e (bpe), bisphenols b (bpb), 4-cumylphenol (hpp) and bisphenol f (bpf), with only bps being currently used as main substitute in thermal paper. degradation of bpa microbial degradation the enzyme 4-hydroxyacetophenone monooxygenase, which can be found in pseudomonas fluorescens, uses (4-hydroxyphenyl)ethan-1-one, nadph, h+ and o2 to produce 4-hydroxyphenyl acetate, nadp+, and h2o. the fungus cunninghamella elegans is also able to degrade synthetic phenolic compounds like bisphenol a. plant degradation portulaca oleracea efficiently removes bisphenol a from a hydroponic solution. how this happens is unclear.this is the photo fries degradation of bisphenol a, upon exposure to uv light. photodegradation photodegradation is bpa's main method of natural weathering in the environment, via the photo fries rearrangement. experimentally, bpa has been shown to photodegrade in reactions catalyzed by zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and tin dioxide, as methods of water decontamination procedures. the photo fries degradation is a complex rearrangement of the aromatic carbonate backbone of bpa into phenyl salicylate and dihydroxybenzophenone derivatives before the energized ring releases carbon dioxide. in aqueous solution, bpa shows uv absorption of wavelengths between 250 nm and 360 nm, and the photo fries degradation occurs at wavelengths less than 300 nm. the reaction begins by an alpha cleavage between the carbonyl carbon and the oxygen in the carbonate linkage, with the subsequent photo fries rearrangement of the products. seen is the mechanism of the photodegradation of bpa by the photo fries reaction: combustion of bpa this is the combustion reaction of bisphenol a. bisphenol a and oxygen reaction to form water and carbon dioxide.hydroxyl radicals are powerful oxidants that transform bpa into different forms of phenolic group compounds. the advanced photocatalytic oxidation of bpa, using compounds like sodium hypochlorite, naocl, as the oxidizing agent, can accelerate the degradation efficiency by releasing oxygen into the water. this decomposition occurs when bpa is exposed to uv irradiation. this release of oxygen, another strong oxidant, also causes bpa disintegration in aqueous conditions to produce carbon dioxide and water. the dissolved carbon dioxide in the water results in an increase of carbonic acid, therefore causing an acidification of the water. oxidation of bpa by ozone this is the reaction between bisphenol a and ozone, and all of the products. during water treatment, bpa can be removed through ozonation. a 2008 study has identified the degradation products of this reaction, through the use of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. the reaction of bpa and ozone is seen below: solutions of bpa and water decreased in ph after the ozonation process was completed. ph drops from 6.5 to 4.5 ph units were observed. this is likely because of the formation of carboxylic acids. these products were produced when the solution was 20±2 °c. the products have high molecular weight. also, ozone is electrophilic, so reactions were between ozone and aromatic rings by electrophilic substitution. kinetics of bpa degradation in 1991, the first explanation of the rate of bpa degradation through ozonation was determined. − d [ b p a ] d t = k apparent [ b p a ] [ o 3 ] =k_ this relates the concentration of bpa to time by the