Today, the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) published a new report on ‘Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life‘ following its inquiry into the subject. The EAC declare that “current regulation does not account for the cocktail of chemicals we are exposed to”, and that hazardous chemicals are now “ubiquitous in humans and the environment”. The committee [...]
EDC
On 4th June CHEM Trust’s lawyers Leigh Day sent a legal letter to the UK Government, arguing that their proposed post-Brexit rules for chemicals and pesticides were not a proper reflection of the EU laws they were supposed to be copying. These laws would enter into force in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Since [...]
Following a legal letter from Leigh Day on behalf of CHEM Trust, the UK Government have announced today that they will re-instate a ban on pesticides with endocrine (hormone) disrupting properties in their no-deal Brexit laws. The Government are claiming this is a drafting error, yet this European ban on endocrine disrupting pesticides has been [...]
The UK Government has claimed that it would not weaken EU environmental laws when transferring them into UK law in the event of a no-deal Brexit, with Secretary of State Michael Gove stating that “We will deliver a Green Brexit, where environmental standards are not only maintained but enhanced“. However, CHEM Trust’s analysis is that [...]
CHEM Trust has highlighted for nearly five years, that the current EU laws regulating the chemicals used in food contact materials (FCM) such as food packaging, cutlery, and factory equipment do not properly protect public health. Many materials, such as paper, card, inks and linings are not controlled by harmonised EU-level laws, and where harmonised laws [...]
Throughout our life we are exposed to hundreds of chemicals from multiple sources including from food, consumer products, household dust and drinking water. Current safety assessments mainly focus on single substances. However, combined exposure to many chemicals can lead to unacceptable effects, even if single substances in the mixture are below their individual safety levels. [...]
We are all exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from everyday sources, including food contact materials, cosmetics and toys, and these are linked to a range of health concerns. In 2017 the EU Commission announced that it would develop a new strategy to minimise exposures of EU citizens to endocrine disrupters beyond pesticides and biocides. [...]
This International Women’s Day, we want to highlight the work of one woman in particular who had a significant impact on the field of endocrine disrupting chemicals, Dr Theo Colborn (1927-2014). A trained pharmacist, Colborn had an interest in wildlife from an early age. After completing her Master’s degree in science in 1981, she was [...]
It has already taken many years of debate for the EU to agree on criteria for identifying endocrine disrupting pesticides and biocides as a first step for regulatory controls. However, exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from various other sources, including from food contact materials, cosmetics and toys are leading to concerns about impacts on health [...]
As CHEM Trust reported in May a collaboration of academic scientists and NGOs have been working together to identify the hazardous chemicals associated with plastic packaging. We reported that over 4000 chemicals have been identified that are potentially present in plastic packaging or used during its manufacture. At least 148 of these chemicals have been identified as [...]
