Chicago officials today banned the sale of baby bottles and cups containing bisphenol A, a chemical commonly known as BPA and linked to cancer and neurological disorders.

Officials say the city is the first in the United States to institute such a ban. Chicago aldermen say they hope that other governments will follow suit.

"I think we're setting the example here," says Alderman Ed Burke (D-14), who introduced the ordinance with Alderman Manuel Flores (D-1). "As Chicago goes, so goes the nation."

The ordinance, effective starting Jan. 31, will require retailers to post a notice informing consumers that plastics for sale in stores do not contain BPA. Violators of the ban will face fines from $100 to $500 per offense and possible license revocation.

In March, the City Council voted to postpone a vote on the ordinance. Officials said they were waiting on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the chemical on the national level, but no such thing happened.

Flores expressed dismay over how the federal government has not instituted a national ban against the sale of baby products with BPA, as Canada has. State and county governments around the U.S. have also adopted bans, he says.

"Why isn't the Food and Drug Administration taking some type of action?" Flores asked fellow aldermen a few hours ago, during a City Council meeting. "I am struck that, as we speak, the FDA has yet to take some action in protecting our communities from this insidious chemical."

According to the FDA's Web site, a review of data and two studies involving rodents "did not indicate a safety concern for BPA at current exposure levels."

"Based on our ongoing review," the agency reported, "we believe there is a large body of evidence that indicates that FDA-regulated products containing BPA currently on the market are safe and that exposure levels to BPA from food contact materials, including for infants and children, are below those that may cause health effects."

FDA officials say they continue to review new research and information, and they suggest — but stop short of recommending — glass bottles as alternatives to bottles containing BPA.

In a statement after the City Council's adoption of the ban, Flores pointed to investigative reporting that revealed the FDA favored research funded by plastics manufacturers.

In February, testifying at a City Council meeting, a scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago linked the chemical to various diseases.

Consumer advocacy groups, including the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, have come out against BPA in child products.