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
Scientists propose and apply NIAS identification approaches
Review provides guidance to select analytical technique for non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) identification and quantification in food contact materials (FCMs); scientific studies analyze NIAS migrating from FCMs; develop model to predict collision cross-section values to identify NIAS in FCMs; detect polyethylene terephthalate (PET) oligomers in post-mortem blood samples
Reducing exposure to PFOA
Article informs about presence of PFOA in consumer products and highlights ways to reduce exposure from food contact materials
New research on chemical migration from plastic, paper, can coating, and reusables
Recent reports investigate whitening agents’ migration from disposable plastic containers; characterize 153 chemicals migrating from paper packaging and show estimated dietary exposure for children to per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) exceed safety threshold; detect brominated flame retardants in repeat-use food contact articles; review metal can coating literature concerning coatings types, chemical migrants, detection methods, dietary exposure, and regulatory
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