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Europe studying tighter rules on endocrine disruptors
BRUSSELS
-- A new report is calling for the European Commission to take tougher action
over the use of endocrine disruptors.
The
report, headed by Sweden member of parliament Ã…sa Westlund, says that the
feared effects of endocrine disruptors are "so serious" that the
Commission should take measures to protect humans and animals, despite an
absence of "precise knowledge" about the chemicals.
The
term "endocrine disruptors" is often taken to mean synthetic
chemicals that mediate hormonal activity
in the human body. They are present in food packaging, cosmetics and floorings,
and "many products made of plastic in our homes and at our workplaces
contain one or more types of chemicals which are suspected of having an
endocrine-disrupting effect," says the report.
Hormone
related disorders include testicular cancer, breast cancer and early onset of
puberty.
The
report is calling for the Commission to propose testing and information
requirements for chemicals on the commercial market, and for European Union
legislation to make clear what is regarded as a substance with
endocrine-disrupting properties.
Endocrine
disruptors should also be regarded as Substances as Very High Concern under
Reach, it adds.
The
European Parliament will vote on the issue in March.
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