This week, a group of 50 patient organisations, healthcare professionals and scientists sent a letter to the UK Government highlighting concerns about the risks posed to children from harmful chemicals in toys, and calling for action.

The letter calls for the UK to align with the EU’s update to its toy safety regulation, which bans some of the most hazardous chemicals in children’s toys, including endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and chemicals toxic to the respiratory system and specific organs. The EU’s updated regulation also introduces group bans on bisphenols and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), aka the ‘forever chemicals’. The new law was recently approved by the European Council and will next need to be approved by the European Parliament before entering into force.

EDCs are chemicals that disrupt the normal functioning of the hormone system. They have been linked to adverse health impacts such as certain cancers, reduced fertility, and impaired brain development. Examples of EDCs include certain bisphenols, PFAS and phthalates.

In the letter, the signatories, which include midwives, doctors, cancer specialists and world-leading scientists on the impacts of EDCs, highlight that children are more vulnerable to EDCs because their organs and nervous systems are still developing. The letter also draws attention to the UK’s high incidence rates of diseases associated with EDCs, such as the development of breast and prostate cancers. These affect 1 in 7 women and 1 in 8 men in the UK, respectively.

Signatory Professor Paul Fowler from the University of Aberdeen emphasised that evidence has increasingly linked exposure to EDCs with a “a whole range of effects from being born small for gestational age, to effects on brain development and immune system development and so on.”

CHEM Trust and other NGOs also urged the UK government to align with the EU’s update in a separate letter also sent this week. They highlighted that the new EU regulation will apply in Northern Ireland and called for the same level of protection across all four nations.

Read more about the letter in our blog here, and more about the EU’s updated Toy Safety Regulation here.

Find out more about how to reduce your child’s risk of exposure to EDCs here.

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