In a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today, members of the EDC-Free Europe campaign are calling on her to urgently deliver the targeted revisions of the REACH and CLP regulations without further delay. The timely implementation of these revisions are fundamental in preventing exposure of people and the environment to harmful endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
As stated in the Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the use of and exposure to endocrine disruptors is on the rise, representing a serious risk to human health and wildlife. The recent results of the European-wide human biomonitoring study, HBM4EU, sadly confirms the large contamination of EU citizens by EDCs and the adverse effects of these mixtures of chemicals on human health. These include, among others, cancers, developmental disorders, reduced fertility, diabetes and obesity.
In the letter, members of the EDC-Free Europe coalition express their concern that any additional delay in the revision of legislation outlined in the EU Chemicals Strategy work plan would jeopardize the possibility of having these targeted revisions completed by the end of the current EU Commission’s mandate. This would mean years of prolonged pollution of the environment and prolonged exposure of people, including vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children.