Wednesday

29th Nov 2023

EU wants action on threat from 'chemical cocktails'

  • The effects of endocrine disruptors are thought to have their greatest effect on animals in their infancy (Photo: Wikipedia)

Widespread declining sperm counts, increased rates of breast and testicular cancer, earlier onset of puberty and children's behaviour problems are a handful of the health effects attributed to so-called chemical cocktails, a growing concern amongst European Union governments.

On Tuesday (22 december), environment ministers from across the bloc ordered the European Commission to take action on the matter and investigate where current legislation is lacking and to plug the holes.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The EU, like most other powers, focuses on the benefits and dangers of chemicals on a "chemical-by-chemical" basis. That is, regulators look at the effects of each individual chemical. Only recently have scientists begun to be concerned about the combination effects of chemicals that otherwise appear safe in isolation but when absorbed together - in a "chemical cocktail" - could have unexpected and dangerous consequences.

"Chemicals that we surround ourselves with every day can be dangerous to public health in combination. Evaluating the risks posed by individual chemicals on their own is not enough," the ministers said in a statement after meeting in Brussels.

Such effects are most pronounced when animals and people are in their infancy.

The ministers noted with particular concern a recent Danish study that raised fears that two-year-olds may be at risk particularly from chemicals with hormone disrupting properties.

There is worry among some in the scientific community that combined exposure to chemicals that mimic hormones - known as endocrine disruptors - in the womb or early in life may be associated with reduced IQ, attention deficit disorders and autism.

At the same time, some of these chemicals are found in some of the most common household products such as flooring, shoes, babies bottles, tin can linings and DVDs. Critics of theories of such effects argue the amounts of the chemicals actually in the environment are too low to cause these problems.

The ministers tasked the commission with producing a recommendation in 2010 on how exposure to combinations of endocrine disruptors should be dealt with in existing legislation and then to evaluate in 2011 if any new laws are needed.

A group of eight green NGOs, including WWF, Greenpeace, the CHEM Trust and the European Environmental Bureau, warned that the timetable for action was far too relaxed for an issue that is rapidly climbing the environmental agenda.

"What is really needed are urgent measures to reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals from various sources and their substitution with safer alternatives," they said in a statement. "The deadline for a European Commission report was postponed until 2012, meaning it will be years before much-needed amendments to legislation will be discussed."

The groups want concrete legislative proposals from the European Commission now.

Opinion

Will EU climate chief Hoekstra come clean before COP28?

As the new EU climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, heads to COP28, three senior MEPs question his ties to the fossil-fuel industry — and call for him to disclose all his ties while working for 11 years for McKinsey.

Latest News

  1. Finland's closure of Russia border likely violates asylum law
  2. The EU's 'no added sugars' fruit-juice label sleight-of-hand
  3. EU belittles Russia's Lavrov on way to Skopje talks
  4. Member states stall on EU ban on forced-labour products
  5. EU calls for increased fuel supplies into Gaza
  6. People-smuggling profits at historic high, EU concedes
  7. EU bets big on fossil hydrogen and carbon storage
  8. How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  2. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  4. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  5. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us