Draft legal act on EDC identification criteria finds little support by EU Member States; European Commission to change draft, aiming to find a majority among Member States
Legal options for EDC criteria
Several options exist for EU Commission’s next actions on EDC criteria for pesticides; legal experts see responding to EP’s objection concerning exemption for pesticides with intended endocrine mode of action as the quickest way forward
Focus on PFASs
Ensia article summarizes environmental and health concerns about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, addresses controversial substitution of long-chain PFASs with short-chain alternatives
Surfactants linked to birth defects
New U.S. scientific study associates exposure to quaternary ammonium compounds with transgenerational birth defects in rodents
PFAS in paper packaging and factors influencing its migration
Scientists screen PFAS in paper and board packaging, observe decreasing trend in European samples; find opposite migratory behavior of short and long chain PFAS into ethanolic food simulants, highlight significant underestimation of migration to foodstuffs when using Tenax® food simulant
EEB: At this pace, the EU will take centuries to regulate chemicals
European Environmental Bureau (EEB) analysis finds that it takes the EU two decades to regulate a chemical from start to finish; bottlenecks include industry submitting incomplete information, over-analysis by EU regulators, and the European Commission taking longer to decide about a Scientific Opinion than ECHA takes to draft it
Reducing exposure to PFOA
Article informs about presence of PFOA in consumer products and highlights ways to reduce exposure from food contact materials
Summary on estrogenic chemicals and reproductive health
PLOS Biology article highlights reproductive health impacts of estrogenic chemicals such as bisphenol A, its analogues, and phthalates
U.S. hearing on international cancer research agency
U.S. Congress hearing on International Agency on the Research for Cancer addresses future funding; critics question agency’s scientific integrity; defenders talk of industry-lead campaign to discredit IARC’s monographs on carcinogens program
No vote on EDC criteria yet
No formal vote on proposed EDC criteria took place during latest SC-PAFF meeting; Commission likely to re-draft proposals due to wide disagreement among stakeholders