EU unveils ‘largest ever ban’ plan on hazardous chemicals

Earlier this year, scientists discovered that chemical contamination “anger planetaryThis could result in the collapse of ecosystems around the world. For example, they speculate that this is affecting the decline in human fertility rates and is behind more than two million deaths a year.

“restrictions roadmapIt is designed as the EU’s first step to “ban toxic substances linked to cancer, hormonal disruption, reproductive disorders, obesity, diabetes and other diseases,” issued Monday, April 25.

Even the industry believes it. 12,000 items According to experts, this proposal, which will be created, may finally disappear. European Environment Office (BSE), “world’s largest ban on toxic chemicals”.

Tatiana Santos, the office’s director of chemicals policy, commented: “EU chemical controls are often painfully slow, but the EU is planning the boldest detox we’ve ever seen. The petrochemical industry is in shock at what is currently on the table. It promises to improve the safety of almost all products manufactured and rapidly reduce the chemical concentration of our schools, homes and workplaces.”

Plan focuses on all chemical classes for the first timeincluding all flame retardants, bisphenols, PVC plastics, toxic chemicals in disposable diapers, and PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” due to the time it takes to naturally degrade.

The industry, for its part, is in line with the plan’s approach. may affect products sold to the public, such as sunscreens and perfumes, capable of using many synthetic substances. “Many different ingredients fall into the skin sensitizer group, so a wide variety of cosmetic products could potentially be affected,” said John Chave, CEO of Cosmetics Europe, a trade organization. “The impact on consumers will be that there is potentially less variation in cosmetic products without any safety benefits, because the ingredients were already safe,” Chave said.

Beyond makeup suppliesAffected products may include: pictures, Product:%s from cleaning, adhesives, lubricants Y pesticide. Europe’s Reach system is currently the most comprehensive chemical registration system in the world, and new bans could affect more than a quarter of the industry’s annual turnover. This means around 500 billion € (£420bn) per year, according to a study by the Cefic trade group.

Industry advocates an approach more specific restrictionshowever, the European Chemicals Agency prefers to process chemicals in batches because chemical companies avoided many times It bans individual chemicals by changing their composition to create sister substances that can be dangerous but then require lengthy legal battles to regulate.

This industry tactic known as “substitution sad“, has been criticized by environmental groups for allowing substances such as bisphenol A, which disrupts the endocrine system, to be replaced by other bisphenols. Santos calls it “a the cynical and irresponsible tactic of the chemical industry to replace the most harmful banned chemicals with equally harmful ones These are not yet on the regulatory radar. “For years we have witnessed an unfortunate pattern of substitution to avoid regulation,” he said.

More than 190 million synthetic chemicals they are registered worldwide and on average a new industrial chemical is created every 1.4 seconds. The UN said it expects the global value of the industry to be more than $5 billion (£3.9 billion). Double by 2030 and quadruple by 2060.

EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius commented that the new restrictions were “intended”. reduce human and environmental exposure to some of the most harmful chemicalsappeals to a wide range of uses.

Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Markets, comments that a non-toxic environment will need to be achieved. transparency Y visibility your commission. “The constraints roadmap provides that visibility and enables companies and other stakeholders to be better prepared for possible future constraints”.

According to the research of German environmentalists, industrial giants such as BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemicals and ExxonMobil used millions of tons of chemicals between 2014 and 2019 without completing their safety checks.

Reference article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/25/eu-unveils-plan-largest-ever-ban-on-dangerous-chemicals