Brussels, 06/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - With action to restrict substances of very high concern by the EU's chemicals legislation, REACH, moving much too slowly, environmental and health NGOs, trade unions and BEUC have called on legislators and industry to act swiftly to reduce consumers' exposure to endocrine disrupters and replace them with safer alternatives. NGO ChemSec published its new SIN (Substitute It Now) list on 3 May, containing the names of chemicals identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), with the addition of several products which can interfere with our hormone system. The SIN list is designed to help businesses and legislators identify and replace these dangerous chemical substances. Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC and a member of the SIN list project consultative committee, commented: “We all are exposed daily to an endocrine disrupting chemical cocktail without realising it. … It's therefore of paramount importance that companies start substituting them now”.
Fertility difficulties, obesity, diabetes, premature breast development, malformed reproductive organs: these are some of the potential effects of “endocrine disrupters” - substances which can interfere with the hormonal system and which are commonly used in consumer products in the EU. Examples include Bisphenol A, Phthalates and Parabens. ChemSec has updated its 2008 list of chemical substances of very high concern adding 22 endocrine disrupters to the list of 378 previously identified substances.
“The EU has the ambition to tackle the threat of EDCs but has so far not properly regulated their use. It is time to overcome this deadlock in European regulation and start acting”, said ChemSec director Per Rosander. In the EU chemicals regulation REACH, all 27 member states have agreed that the use of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) should be strictly limited. However, the processes for doing so are moving very slowly and currently, only 46 chemicals have been officially identified as SVHCs and put on the REACH candidate list. None of them have been selected specifically for their endocrine disrupting properties, regrets ChemSec.
“We strongly encourage the European Commission and EU member states to start nominating EDCs to the REACH candidate list. This latest update of the SIN List gives guidance on where to start”, said Jerker Ligthart, ChemSec project coordinator. Stakeholders have four watchwords for the attention of the European institutions: 1) Act now - speed up the use of REACH to reduce exposure to endocrine disrupters; 2) Play it safe - replace endocrine disrupters with safer alternatives where they exist; 3) Provide transparency for citizens; 4) Get the criteria right - develop comprehensive criteria for identifying chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties, for use across all relevant EU legislation. (I.L./transl.rt)