Report from Nordic Council of Ministers reviews public information available for per- and polyfluoroalkylether substances (PFAEs); identifies 394 substances, find more than half do not exist in public chemical databases; limited data on identity, production, and uses
Study warns of perchlorate effects
Scientists led by Vanderbilt University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine identify mechanism perchlorate uses to block iodine uptake in thyroid cells, argue pollution in drinking water more dangerous than previously thought
Key characteristics of carcinogens
Scientists propose ten key characteristics of carcinogens to be used as a basis for organizing and evaluating mechanistic data collected in support of hazard identification
Health risks of ‘BPA-free’ baby bottles
Scientists evaluate health risks of migrants from ‘BPA-free’ baby bottles made of PP, PA, PES, silicone, Tritan™, stainless steel; silicone bottle, several PP bottles of ‘high concern’; Tritan™ bottle, several more PP bottles of ‘concern’
Multi-criteria framework to prioritize polymers of concern
Scientists develop holistic conceptual framework to characterize and rank the environmental risks of plastic polymers; tool can support targeted investment and mitigation strategies
ECHA: 2016 SVHC roadmap report
ECHA releases annual report on progress in identifying substances of very high concern; calls on companies to improve REACH registration data to assess chemicals’ hazards and risks; will focus more on groups of structurally similar substances
Washington state passes bold chemicals legislation
Pollution Prevention for Our Future Act calls on state department to identify and take action on priority substances and products; legislation covers food and beverage packaging, could restrict use of substances
ECHA and Cefic to work on REACH implementation
European Chemicals Agency and European Chemical Industry Council cooperate on ‘effective implementation of REACH’; Cefic director calls for making REACH compliance a ‘global brand’
EFSA: Consultations on weight of evidence and biological relevance
EFSA announces public consultation on two draft guidance documents concerning use of weight of evidence approach in scientific assessments and identification of biological relevance of observed effects
Quantifying the clean-up costs of ocean plastics
Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates $150 billion investment needed to address ocean plastic pollution, says solutions are in redesigning products upstream; Pew Charitable Trust to release report detailing cost estimates, launches initiative to find effective strategies