Texts that caught our eye
Here we highlight texts, from newspaper articles to scientific publications, that we find important for the debate on chemical impacts on human health and the environment.
1.
Europe’s state of the environment 2020
The European Environment Agency (EEA) states in its recently released
report on “Europe’s state of the environment 2020” that sustainability
challenges require urgent systemic solutions. EEA concludes that
European chemical policies have contributed to improved air and surface water
quality and reduced related harm to the environment and people’s health.
Nevertheless, on‑going
exposure to chemical pollution continues to negatively affect human health and
the environment. Latent and irreversible damage to human health is of
particular concern. The report also emphasizes the lack of (eco)toxicological
knowledge available for many of the chemials on the EU market.
2. A European Green Deal Striving to be the first climate-neutral continent
The ambitious European Green Deal is an integral part of the EU Commission’s
strategy to implement the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda and the sustainable
development goals. It includes a zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free
environment and aims to ensure that the recently newly appointed EU Commission
will present a chemicals strategy for sustainability.
The timeline for the EU Green Deal is ambitious, with the aim to deliver
first strategies and solutions by 2021.
3.
The European Water Framework Directive
The EU Commission recently
evaluated the European water legislation and concluded that the Water Framework
Directive (WFD) is “fit for purpose”. It states that the WFD’s objectives are
“as relevant now as they were at the time of adoption”. However, the evaluation
points out three areas in which the current framework is not functioning
optimally: (a) the surprisingly huge differences in the WFD implementation between
Member States, (b) the insufficient speed by which the list of priority
substances is updated, and (c) the use of environmental quality standards that do
not take into account the combined effects of chemical mixtures.
4.
Mapping the chemical universe: List of substances
by regulatory action published.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
recently published its “chemical universe”, a list of over 21 000 REACH
registered substances mapped into five classes, based on whether there are regulatory
actions in place, initiated or considered. Important highlight - there are
still thousands of substances for which possible actions have not yet been
determined.
5.
ECHA:
44 % of hazardous mixtures not compliant with classification and labelling obligationsChemical
products such as washing and cleaning products and biocides typically contain complex
chemical mixtures, often comprising hazardous chemicals. A recent EU-wide
Enforcement Forum project conducted by the European Chemicals Agency found that
almost half (44%) of those products are not adequately classified and labelled.
A third (33%) of the safety data sheets of these products were also non-compliant.
6.
ChemSec
releases an updated list of chemicals to be substituted
The
International Chemical Secretariat ChemSec recently published an updated
version of The “Substitute It Now” List
(the SIN List), a compilation of chemicals with hazardous properties that should
be avoided in chemical products. Don´t miss their YouTube film Don’t let
hazardous chemicals ruin your product!
