Many people are unaware of the fact that our bodies are contaminated with synthetic chemicals that weren’t there in pre-industrial times. Some of these chemicals are now banned, but stick around as they take decades to break down, if at all. Others are still in use in furniture or even cosmetics. More than ten years [...]
Pollution
In 2014 CHEM Trust published a detailed study of the increasing evidence that human and veterinary medicines are damaging wildlife. Three years later, the European Commission has just completed a consultation on a proposed “Strategic approach” to pharmaceuticals in the environment. CHEM Trust’s response to this consultation argues that the “issue of pharmaceuticals in the environment [...]
On Monday 20th November CHEM Trust participated in a stakeholder workshop on the prioritisation of substances for a major European-wide research programme investigating which chemicals are contaminating our bodies. The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) is a joint effort of 26 countries and the European Commission, co-funded by the EC research programme Horizon 2020. Running [...]
PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) are a group of chemicals which were produced in large quantities by companies such as Monsanto, and were widely used in electrical equipment, sealants and paints. Their production was phased out in the mid 1980’s in Europe, and they are now banned by the global Stockholm convention, as they were found to be [...]
Highly persistent harmful chemicals are found in marine animals all over the world. These chemicals are having lasting impacts on the health of wildlife, as even if they are banned they stick around. In addition, there’s now a new problem that is concerning scientists: microplastics from cosmetics and other applications are polluting the environment, and [...]
A new analysis for chemicals charity CHEM Trust finds that chemicals from fracking sites have the potential to cause significant pollution [1]. This pollution with hazardous chemicals could cause damage to sensitive ecosystems, including killing wildlife, as has happened in the US. Important UK wildlife sites are threatened, which could harm a wide range of species such as butterflies, [...]
In the first study of its kind, scientists have shown that climate change could amplify the negative effects of pollution from endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on aquatic wildlife. Climate change is seen globally as a major environmental risk, and when combined with chemical pollution and habitat loss, it has the potential to have a severe impact on wildlife populations. [...]
The sex of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta), native to fresh waters of North America, is normally determined by the temperature the eggs are exposed to during development, but new research shows the commonly used hormone disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can disrupt this process. BPA, which is present in a number of household products including food can [...]
The debate on the ‘Circular Economy’ is hotting up, as the Juncker Commission tries to work out what changes it is going to make to the existing proposal to make it ‘more ambitious’. CHEM Trust have already pointed out the importance of chemical regulation – in particular REACH – in cleaning up the circular economy. [...]
At the start of December I gave a short presentation at the health session of the EEB’s 40th Anniversary conference. It was based around three themes: the need to ensure pollution is part of discussions on the environment (rather than just climate, resource efficiency and biodiversity) the need to focus on increasing wellbeing in the jobs, growth & [...]
