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March 1, 2017.
Endocrine disruptors have failed to unite all the Member States of the European Union around a single definition. The case is again postponed and concern is growing among defenders of strict legislation on the use of these toxic substances.
Endocrine disruptors: some states are asking Europe for greater firmness
The European Commission has registered yet another failure in its latest attempt to give a strict definition to endocrine disruptors. The file, pending for several months already, will not yet pave the way for real legislation on the use of endocrine disruptors in the European area.
At the origin of this discord between certain Member States and the Commission: the flaws in the definition currently presented. When the Commission wishes to legislate only on substances whose harmfulness to health has been scientifically recognized, other countries, such as France, Sweden and Denmark, want this definition to be more like that of carcinogenic substances. For these States, the Commission must indeed include in this definition, even if only to a lesser extent, substances which are considered for the moment only potentially dangerous.
The definition of endocrine disruptors “not acceptable” for Ségolène Royal
In a press release, the Minister of the Environment Ségolène Royal regretted that ” the definition amended by the Commission is still not acceptable “And confirms France’s position that this definition must” take into account suspected endocrine disruptors and not only proven ones “. It thus comes close to the definition adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), who for his part notes that an endocrine disruptor is ” an exogenous substance or mixture, possessing properties liable to induce endocrine disruption in an intact organism, in its descendants or in sub-populations “.
The stakes are high. This definition will in fact lead to the prohibition of substances such as phthalates or bisphenol A, which can be found in many products such as cosmetics, toys, fast food packaging etc.
Read also: 185 cosmetic products made up of dangerous substances revealed!
Sybille Latour