French socialist MEPs are defiant against the Commission's "weak, superficial and incomplete" definition of endocrine disruptors, blaming it on French Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot, and calling on the European Parliament to reject it on Wednesday 4 October.
The dangers of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) for human health and the environment have long been documented and the evidence keeps piling up every day, yet Europe's approach to this challenge has been lukewarm, writes Genon Jensen.
Reducing exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals will benefit healthcare systems and economies as a whole, writes Christian Zahn.
A large group of scientists from across various sectors are supporting an appeal to the European Commission regarding its proposed regulation to establish criteria for identifying endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
A group of scientists has written to the European Commission to voice concerns about burden of proof and confused evidence requirements to identify and classify endocrine disruptors under the PPP and Biocides Regulations.
The debate on hormone disruptors in the EU is more political than scientific. A decision to ignore the question of potency would cause needless disruption to regulators, industries and consumers, writes Christopher Borgert.
Endocrine disruptors pose a substantial risk to public health, yet the European Commission has dawdled time and again on introducing measures that would finally limit their use. Now is the time to put this right, write Genon Jensen and Michael Warhurst.
Critics point out that some chemicals like bisphenol A can briefly influence human endocrine levels. But they dismiss the fact that our endocrine systems are dynamic and built to quickly adjust to brief exposure to these endocrine disruptors, writes Jeff Stier.
The upcoming review of the REACH chemicals regulation provides an opportunity to close the loopholes on the legislation and regulate nanomaterials, endocrine disrupters and chemical cocktails, writes Monique Goyens.
The EU's risk assessment system for chemicals has derailed and should be reformed urgently in favour of a science-based system that takes full account of the work undertaken by the scientific community, argues Hans Muilerman.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) seems confident that research on the toxicity of low doses of chemicals in food is irrelevant to risk assessment. This is despite mounting evidence that low-dose exposure, particularly to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, could be contributing to rising rates of a number of diseases, writes Paul Whaley.
