Filed under: Environment/Ecology, EU Regulation/Legislation, Plant Protection | Tags: endocrine disrupters, PBTs, regulation
The European Commission has published a Regulation which details those active substances in plant protection products should be considered in the future to be substituted in view of their potentially toxic properties.
Commission Implementing Regulation 2015/408 lists a significant number of active substances which are considered to either be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBTs) or have endocrine-disrupting properties (EDCs).
The regulation comes into force on 1 August 2015, and has implications for laboratory measurements as this range of substances – which covers many different classes of chemical, both inorganic and organic, to be identified and measured in order to ascertain if they are present in any plant protection product.
Filed under: chemicals, EU Regulation/Legislation, RoHS/WEEE | Tags: endocrine disrupters, regulation
The European Commission has advised the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its intention to include the four phthalates DEHP, BBP, DBP and DiBP to the list of restricted substances under the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic devices legislation. These substances are considered by some to be endocrine disrupters (EDCs), although there is not general agreement across Europe on this.
The proposed restriction is due to be implemented in 2019, although will not apply to medical devices and monitoring and control instruments until 2021.
Filed under: EU Regulation/Legislation, Toys, Uncategorized | Tags: endocrine disrupters, Toys
The European Commission has announced that the permitted levels of bisphenol A in toys is reduced to 1 mg/L (migration limit). This covers toys which are intended to be placed in a child’s mouth.
Bisphenol A is strongly suspected of being an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC). This reduction places increased responsibility on analytical measurement laboratories to be able to detect and quantify accurately bisphenol A in toys in order to assist in effective enforcement.
Filed under: chemicals | Tags: chemicals, endocrine disrupters, phthalates, SVHCs
Having decided to introduce legislation ban products containing phthalates in their country. the Danish Government have now published a comprehensive and informative guidance document for Danish industrial companies.
The guidance document gives advice on how to specify products which are phthalate free, how to select suppliers who may be able and willing to supply such materials, as well as giving a good deal of background on the REACH and CLP designations of phthalates. There a number of phthalates on the REACH candidate list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs); these will eventually be subject to restriction across the EU, but Denmark wish to get ahead of the game on this one. One excellent piece of advice contained in the guide is that if a company wants to check whether a product is phthalate free, then testing by an accredited laboratory will provide evidence of this.
Phthalates are used in many products across a wide range of sectors. One common use is as a plasticiser, so many products made of , or containing, plastic could potentially contain phthalates. The guidance document is useful for any organisation wishing to remove phthalates from their supply chain, whether in Denmark or elsewhere in the EU.
Filed under: EU Information, Plant Protection | Tags: chemicals, endocrine disrupters, pesticides
The Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published an update on EU deliberations on how to define and regulate endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
Work is ongoing in developing EU Directive 1107/2009, which is concerned with Plant Protection Products, to set criteria to determine what is an EDC. There has been input to this process from a number of bodies, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the European Commission’s Joint Research Council (JRC). The JRC have failed to reach a consensus, whilst EFSA believe that EDCs can be regulated in the same way as other toxic chemicals, i.e. they can have a threshold value. Many other contributors to this topic believe that no threshold value should be set for EDCs, and a “zero-tolerance” level is applicable.
The outcome of this process will define what Member States will have to do to remove EDCs from plant protection products (pesticides) going forward. These will need to be identified and, depending on whether a threshold limit is set or whether they will be regulated at a zero level, appropriate steps taken to find substitutes, as well as monitoring for the presence and/or level of EDCs. There will be a substantial effort involved in this, with a significant cost. Progress continues, albeit slowly, but a resolution is required in order that there can be clarity for regulators, farmers, analytical scientists and those who campaign for environmental protection.
Filed under: chemicals, Study Results | Tags: chemicals, clothing/footwear, endocrine disrupters, textiles
The international environmental NGO, Greenpeace, has reported the results of a major study into children’s clothing. The study was designed to look at the presence and levels of potentially harmful chemicals which can be found in textile products.
The study found that a large number of chemicals, some of which are regulated in Europe, and others of which Greenpeace strongly consider should be the subject of more stringent regulation, are present in a wide range of children’s clothing, from a wide variety of manufacturers and retailers, made and purchased across many different countries worldwide.
The comprehensive technical study report, which details the analytical approaches used and stresses that the measurements were carried out in expert laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for the analyses undertaken, particularly highlights the levels of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). These are leached from clothing during washing and are harmful to the environment. Other classes of chemicals which were found by the study include phthalate esters, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), organotin compounds and antimony. Phthalate esters are found in printed garments, where they are probably used as plasticisers.
Filed under: Environment/Ecology, EU Information | Tags: Cosmetics, endocrine disrupters, Environmental
Concerns have been raised over the levels of triclosan, an antibacterial agent, in many common brands of toothpaste. A question in the European Parliament from the Romanian MEP Claudiu Ciprian Tănăsescu (see p391) has highlighted this issue following a move in Denmark to ban toothpastes containing triclosan. The response from the European Commission stated that the permitted maximum level of triclosan in toothpaste of 0.3% is safe.
This limit may well be reduced to 0.2% under the Cosmetics Directive in the future. However, the levels of triclosan in cosmetic products (toothpastes, handwashes, etc) in the UL has already given rise to significant concern, as things currently stand over 450 water bodies in the UK could be in breach of Water Framework Directive (WFD) environmental quality standards (EQS) for triclosan, and these need to be reduced. This was the subject of a presentation from Richard Hawkins of the Environment Agency at a recent meeting of the UK Chemicals Stakeholders Forum (UKCSF). Triclosan is considered to be an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC), and so this story may keep going for some time.
Filed under: Environment/Ecology, EU Information | Tags: endocrine disrupters, toxicity testing
A recent meeting held at the European Commission in Brussels, chaired by EU Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Anne Glover, discussed many issues surrounding Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and their effect on health and the environment. The meeting proceedings can be found here.
The discussion centred on threshold levels, and how and when these were relevant, as well as establishing the link between EDCs and certain hormone-related cancers or other developmental problems. The lack of toxicity tests specifically for endocrine disrupting properties was noted, and is not currently required by REACH; this may be viewed as a serious gap in our armoury. The potential for some EDCs to be potent al low concentrations, however, does present a potential issue for measurement scientists, as the ability to measure these substances accurately at the appropriate concentrations may prove to be a challenge in certain situations.
Filed under: chemicals, Cosmetics, EU Regulation/Legislation | Tags: chemicals, Cosmetics, endocrine disrupters
The EU has notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that it intends to ban five less commonly used parabens (isopropyl-, isobutyl, pentyl- and benzyl esters of 4-hydroxybenzoic and their salts) which have been used as preservatives in cosmetic products. Although these 5 substances are not used to any great extent today, the proposed ban marks a change in the way the EU regards the subject of parabens (considered to be endocrine disrupters) and their safety.
Additionally, the EU has given notice of its intention to reduce the levels of two further, more commonly-used parabens, butyl-and propylparaben, and to completely prohibit their use in leave-on cosmetics designed for application in the nappy area and in cosmetics intended for children under three years of age. This reflects the move from Denmark in 2011 to completely ban the use of butyl- and propylparabens in all products aimed at children.
Parabens can be determined in cosmetic products by HPLC.
An EU public consultation on the use of butyl- and propylparabens in cosmetics is open until 1 November 2013.
Filed under: chemicals, Water | Tags: endocrine disrupters, testing, Water Framework Directive
Researchers at the Goethe University Frankfurt in Frankfurt am Main, and the German Federal Institute of Hydrology have conducted tests on bottled water which have shown the presence of the endocrine disrutping chemical (EDC) di(2-diethyl hexyl) fumarate (DEHF).
Tests were carried out using bioassay which confirmed endocrine disrupting behaviour, followed by High Resolution Gas Chromatography Mass Spectometry (HR-GCMS) to identify the EDC substance itself.
Although the report does not indicate the levels of DEHC in the bottled water, so the risk cannot be easily estimated, many EDCs are known to be active at exceptionally low levels and can be considered not to have an threshhold value.
governmentchemist 