California Ocean Protection Council (COPC) publishes unanimously-approved roadmap for state microplastics policy; includes 22 possible immediate actions to limit microplastics based on current knowledge and a 13-point research strategy to inform later actions; German government publishes report on the state of knowledge of microplastics pollution and options for action
EU to reduce plastic bag use
EU Member States required to reduce plastic bag usage by 80% by 2025
EU legislation on drinking water contact materials
Industry association calls for harmonized EU legislation on materials in contact with drinking water; proposal by EU Commission expected by end of 2017
EU wants ban on perfluorooctanoic acid
EU works towards listing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Annex A of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
FCMs topic at EU parliamentary committee
EU Parliament’s Environment Committee exchanges views with the EU Commission on the regulation of food contact materials, requests quicker results and urges for more transparency
FMCs linked to problems in conception and pregnancy
New studies presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting: BPA linked to miscarriages, phthalates to lower male fecundity
Court confirms BPA classification as a substance of very high concern
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and ClientEarth win appeal case brought by lobby group PlasticsEurope; EU Court of Justice confirms ECHA listing of bisphenol A (BPA) as a substance of very high concern (SVHC) due to its endocrine-disrupting properties for humans; PlasticsEurope cannot appeal again
Antiandrogenic chemicals in food
Scientists review food components and contaminants that can act as (anti)androgens; in vitro-based computational model for interactions with androgen receptor identifies active chemicals in ToxCast dataset
DG SANCO meets FCM stakeholders
European Commission’s DG SANCO convenes food contact material (FCM) stakeholders, discloses modified working plan for 2014
Opinion: EU Commission’s secrecy on FCMs
Non-profit organization CHEM Trust criticizes EU Commission’s “secretive and industry-focused” approach to regulating food contact materials, requests more transparency and involvement of public interest groups