Guide developed by Endocrine Society and International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) informs public interest organizations and policy-makers about presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in plastics; explains impacts of EDCs on human health, considers economic dimension
FDA bottleneck reviewing notifications
U.S. Food and Drug Administration behind in reviewing new food contact notifications; warns companies to submit thorough safety data given limited capacity for any process iterations
Basel Convention’s “Partnership on Plastic Waste”
International convention announces multi-stakeholder partnership to prevent and improve management of plastic waste, particularly for single-use plastics; focuses on better design of plastics to increase durability, re-usability, avoid hazardous substances
NGOs petition retailers to remove toxic chemicals
NGOs launch a campaign to remove 100s of chemicals from shelves in retail stores
Wrestling with the externalities of the plastics supply chain
As the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee of the UN Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution approaches, publications highlight the diverse effects the plastics supply chain has on human health and the environment, particularly the burden on vulnerable communities
Discrepancy between ECHA chemical authorization and production volumes
ChemSec finds statement in recent European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) press release misleading; ECHA claims hazardous chemical usage down 97% in the European Union, but percentage based on chemical volumes in company applications for authorization and not on registered production volumes
Conference on food contact regulations in the U.S.
Chemical Watch holds conference on U.S. food contact regulations on March 8-9, 2018 in Arlington, U.S.
Chemical monitoring database published
Multimedia Monitoring Database (MMDB) comprises data from 20 public monitoring data sources in harmonized machine-readable format; to support chemical exposure assessment and decision-making
Phthalates: how safe are they?
The Guardian reports on human exposure to phthalates
Microplastics in aquatic environment
Microplastics2018 conference addresses sources, fate, effects of microplastics in waste water and aquatic ecosystems