CHEM Trust joins EU court battle against “forever chemicals”
The environmental law charity ClientEarth and CHEM Trust will appear in the Court of Justice of the European Union on 14th September to battle the chemicals giant Chemours over its attempt to prevent action on harmful chemicals.
Chemours – a spin-off of DuPont, is challenging the inclusion of GenX chemicals in the EU list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), which requires manufacturers to share information on the dangerous properties of the substances in their supply chain.
ClientEarth and CHEM Trust are joining the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the Government of the Netherlands in the case to defend the listing of these chemicals as substances of very high concern.
GenX chemicals were introduced by DuPont in 2009 as a substitute to the now banned “forever chemical” PFOA. PFOA, was used in the production of TeflonTM pans among other products but was ultimately banned in 2019 due to its capacity to resist degradation and its link to cancer and other illnesses. The landmark legal fight against PFOA in the US was made famous by the Hollywood film Dark Waters, featuring Mark Ruffalo.
There are concerns that the substitute GenX chemicals are also highly persistent, mobile and have toxic effects, in particular for the liver, the kidney, the blood, and the immune system. This is why ClientEarth and CHEM Trust will argue in court that it is vital that GenX chemicals are, at the very least, flagged as being of very high concern.
After this month’s hearing, the Court of Justice is expected to hand down its judgment in early 2022.
Read more here in our press release.
