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Chemicals and Pesticides

The drawbacks of the current system to identify, examine and regulate chemicals and pesticides throughout the European Union have been acknowledged by the European Commission as being :

- 100.106 existing substances that can be used without testing
- the burden of proof as to the safety of these chemicals lies with public authorities
- there is no efficient instrument to ensure safe use of the most problematic substances
- there is a lack of incentives for innovation, in particular of less hazardous substitutes

These chemicals and pesticides include, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), plant protection products, biocides, endocrine disrupting chemicals and dioxins some of which are in daily use in our homes, found in our water and even in the food we eat, and have had no research carried out as to their effects on human health.

ACTION

- Ensure that the EU’s REACH programme, is implemented with the principles of precaution at its heart, i.e. ‘no data, no market’ and allows all citizens to have the full right to know which chemicals are present in which products, .
- Make certain that all chemicals on the market must have their safety assessed by independent experts and be approved and demonstrated to be safe beyond reasonable doubt.
- Promote a phase-out of persistent or bio-accumulative chemicals and a requirement to substitute less safe chemicals with safer alternatives and the phasing out of PVC.


Last article modified in this page or in one of the sub-section mai 4 2009.
4/05/2009

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7/07/2008

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4/02/2007

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30/01/2007

"Stay healthy, Stop mercury" Campaign Launched

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30/08/2006

Commission bans 22 hair dye substances to increase consumer safety

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The EU to ban mercury in fever thermometers

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Click here to read the press release (in German)
Nonylphenols
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1er/08/2005

More than 2 million employees are exposed to carcinogenic chemicals in France

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24/05/2005

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