Group pushes for regulation of toxic chemicals in EU

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 by: PF Louis
Tags: toxic chemicals, European Union, health news

(NaturalNews) ChemSec is lobbying the European Union to ban more toxic chemicals from plastics and cosmetics. Some toxins from children's toys and implements have been banned there and in the USA. But since then, further research has demonstrated hormonal disruption from long term low level exposure to other toxins in many other products. Yet little is done about it.

About Toxins in Plastic Materials

The toxic chemical compounds used in plastics are known as phthalates. Phthalates are now understood as emdocrine disrupters, causing unusual sexual development, infertility, and cancer. There are many phthalate variations used in almost all industrial processes. A billion pounds of phthalates are produced annually.

Plastic is the most common item containing phthalates. Different phthalates are used according to the level of plasticity desired. But they're also used in oils, vinyl items, lacquers, and cosmetics.

Up until the year 2000, most toxicological research was focused on levels concerned with immediate and strong toxic results. So in the late 1990s, DEHP, DBP, and BBP phthalates were banned from toys for children under 12 and child care, e.g. teething rings, for children under three.

The maximum allowable amount of those three items is 0.1 percent of the material used for toys and child care products. Since then three more, DINP, DIDP, and DnOP, have been placed under scrutiny with a moratorium on their production.

Why It's Difficult to Bring About Change

But there are many more damaging phthalates still in many other commonly used products capable of reducing health and fertility. The EPA in the USA and Europe's ChemSec serve similar functions with very little cooperation from their governments.

Sure, bureaucracies are inherently slow. But there are groups that resist recommended changes and have more of an inside track to higher government bodies and officials than either the EPA scientists or ChemSec.

These other groups are well funded by the chemical industries and headed by former government agency insiders. Their biased "findings" arrive sometimes earlier but always with more clout to decision makers. They are known as front groups.

The front group panels distort actual findings and declare the unsafe safe. One such group, The American Council on Science and Health, was formed by an American chemical industry PR group and headed up by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. This is a perfect example of a front group with a deceptively benevolent title and prestigious membership.

Chemical industry funded front groups staffed with revolving door industry/government cronies have enabled corporations to push their bottom line agenda with little or no consideration of health consequences among consumers.

Sources for this article include

About phthalates http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/newscience/on...

Technical summary of Scientific phthalate research circa 1999 http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/newscience/re...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/03/us...

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/108faq.h...