Tag: chemicals

With inadequate reporting of information, corporations are undermining European chemical safety and jeopardising the fundamental principle of the EU's chemicals law REACH “no data, no market”, according to a report by the environmental law group ClientEarth.

The European Parliament, in agreement with EU member states, has added 12 new substances to the EU priority list of pollutants known to pose a risk to surface water. For the first time, three pharmaceuticals will also be included on a "watch list" of emerging pollutants that could one day be added to the priority list.

SPECIAL REPORT / The European Parliament needs more science and less emotion in making decisions on chemicals, pesticides and other contentious legislation, an MEP said on Tuesday (11 June), arguing that lawmakers were influenced by "scaremongering" and environmental lobbying in recent votes.

The European Union's food safety regulator has added another insecticide to the list of crop chemicals it suspects of playing a role in declining bee populations.

The Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) has sent an open letter to the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy Tonio Borg complaining about an Opinion by the European Food Safety Authority on endocrine disruptors. The industry, however, backs EFSA's views.

Sweden’s environment minister is threatening to introduce a national ban on endocrine-disrupting chemicals if the European Union does not act, citing growing evidence of their health-damaging effects.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has endorsed the World Health Organization's (WHO) definition of endocrine disruptors, paving the way for the European Commission to regulate those chemicals in food. The pesticide industry reacted angrily, saying the scientific process has been "rushed to meet political deadlines".

Which companies are putting the most hazardous chemicals on the market? The information is now publicly available in a new database called the 'SIN List' after environmental NGOs filed a lawsuit asking for greater transparency.

The European Commission has moved to reduce the number of hazardous products entering the EU market with new regulatory proposals.

A European Commission’s review of the REACH regulation on Tuesday (5 February) calls for a cut in charges to small businesses under the world's most far-reaching environmental law.

The EU must take action to reduce human's exposure to suspected hormone-affecting endocrine disruptors. Current regulation should be closely examined with a view to updating or proposing new legislation by June 2015 at the latest, the European Parliament's Public Health Committee said in resolution approved yesterday (23 January).

Consumer advocates say European policymakers are 'playing' with children's health despite the enactment last year of the Toy Safety Directive, and call for strengthening the chemical requirements for toys.

Environmental NGOs have accused the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) of leniency in enforcing the REACH regulation on chemical safety, raising the pressure on the European Commission to tighten the screw ahead of a review expected this month.

Under pressure from the European Commission, the Czech Republic yesterday (20 September) banned hard liquor exports after more than 20 deaths were linked to bootleg vodka and rum sales from the country.

The upcoming review of the REACH chemicals regulation provides an opportunity to close the loopholes on the legislation and regulate nanomaterials, endocrine disrupters and chemical cocktails, writes Monique Goyens.

SPECIAL REPORT / Rattled in Europe by the REACH regulation and carbon dioxide emission curbs, international chemical companies are at the Rio Earth Summit determined to push for a global approach to environmental policy – but with a light regulatory touch.

Five years after its adoption, the European Commission is preparing to review the controversial REACH regulation, which for the first time required chemical manufacturers to justify that their products are safe for consumers before placing them on the market.

Shanna H. Swan, a renowned scientist specialising in reproductive medicine, has warned about the health effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as phthalates which can end up in food via pesticides or plastics. In an interview with EurActiv, she calls on regulators to better protect consumers against those "hidden chemicals".

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) seems confident that research on the toxicity of low doses of chemicals in food is irrelevant to risk assessment. This is despite mounting evidence that low-dose exposure, particularly to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, could be contributing to rising rates of a number of diseases, writes Paul Whaley.

The European Commission is proposing for the first time to regulate pharmaceutical pollutants in surface water, citing their potential health hazards to humans and aquatic life.

There are many improvements to be made before REACH can fulfil its public health promise to fight diseases such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, impaired fertility and behavioural disorders, writes Paul Whaley from the Cancer Prevention and Education Society.

Five years after its adoption, the European Commission is preparing to review the controversial REACH regulation, which for the first time required chemical manufacturers to justify that their products are safe for consumers. It's a potential "can of worms," according to EU officials.

European chemical companies have warned the watchdog that oversees them that it could face legal action if it publishes the names of manufacturers of the most toxic substances, in a growing environmental dispute.

Environmental lobby ChemSec on Tuesday (3 May) highlighted 22 hormone-disrupting chemicals routinely found in plastics, packaging and cosmetics that it wants regulated by the European Union.