NEW EU CHEMICALS POLICY ‘REACH’: PROFITS PUT BEFORE PUBLIC HEALTH

On November 17th the European parliament will vote the new REACH system for the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals, which should regulate the production and use of chemicals on a European level.

The question is of vital importance: 99% of chemicals introduced on the market have never undergone sufficient analysis regarding their toxicity for the human being! We are exposed every day to a wide range of hazardous synthetic substances through apparently harmless consumer products. Several scientific studies have been published on the serious and irreversible effects on humans of long-term exposure to chemicals, even in small amounts: cancer, congenital defects, neurological disorders, immune and respiratory diseases, sterility and hormonal disorders.

Between 1930 and 2000 the global production of chemicals increased from 1 to 400 million tons per year. During the last 50 years about 80,000 new chemical substances have been introduced in the environment. Some of these substances are extremely useful, for example those employed in medicines, but many others represent a serious risk to human health and the environment.

Chemicals are absorbed by humans through food, beverages and other products. According to a recent survey, up to 300 different chemical substances can be found in the body of one individual. In fact chemicals are used everywhere, from pesticides to cosmetics, from nursing bottles to computers. Hazardous substances are released into the environment during production and use of these products, and are being carried over long distances through the air and water. Many animal species are at risk also due to exposure to chemicals.

The measures that should enter into force through the REACH system are however under attack from the European chemicals industry (in particular BASF and CEFIC – European Council of Chemicals Industry) and the US government, with the complicity the European Commission President Barroso and various heads of state.

While children are being born with a cocktail of hazardous chemicals in their bloodstream, Barroso and the EU responsible for the industry, Verheugen, position themselves to support the pressure from the chemical industry to weaken key provisions of the legislation so as to be allowed to continue pollution as before.

Moreover the REACH proposal currently contains a major loophole. It will permit the continued use of hazardous chemicals even if a safer alternative is available. To continue using the chemical, a manufacturer, for example, will simply have to demonstrate it is exercising "adequate control" of the chemical, a term that has yet to be properly defined.

The Humanist Regional calls on the European Commission to strengthen, approve and put into practice the REACH system at the earliest possible, in order to assert the priority of human life over profit.
The Humanist Regional declares the urgency to:

1. Prohibit the production and use of chemicals that are proven or suspected to be a risk to human health, and to
2. Eliminate the use of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances, replacing them by alternative products that are environmentally sustainable.

Environmental Commission
European Humanist Regional