On May 29, 2015 the meeting minutes of the third roundtable meeting on the impact assessment (IA) on criteria to identify endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) were published by the European Commission (EC). The meeting took place on May 12, 2015 in Brussels, Belgium and was chaired by Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis. It was the third of a series of meetings hosted by the EC on this topic (FPF reported) and was held to inform Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) about the regulatory framework and the content of the roadmap, which is the first step of the IA.
The roadmap includes four options for setting scientific criteria to identify EDCs (aspect I) and three options for regulatory decision making (aspect II). The interaction of these two aspects was explained via a presentation given by Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE). Questions were asked about the legal necessity and the timing of the IA. In the answer of the Commission, it was stated that an IA became a standard procedure needed in order to make informed decisions and that the lack of criteria for EDCs made an earlier IA impossible.
An update on the public consultation on EDCs was given by the Commission and a detailed report including statistics and report facts was announced to be published before this year’s summer break. Questions and remarks of the MEPs and the Greens group political advisor included the timing of the report, details about the stakeholders who had answered the consultation, the prioritization of impacts on health and environment, and the definition of sectorial versus horizontal criteria for EDCs.
The Commission further presented two sequential studies, which are used in the IA. The first study includes a screening of about 700 chemicals according to a method developed by the Joint Research Center (JRC). This method helps to define whether a substance falls under any of the options defined in the roadmap. The second study will then assess the impacts on e.g. health, environment, agriculture, and industry. According to the current planning, both studies should be concluded in the third quarter of 2016.
Read more
EC (May 29, 2015). “Summary report of third round table on the impact assessment on criteria to identify endocrine disruptors.” (pdf)
EC (April 17, 2015). “Agenda – Third round table on the impact assessment on criteria to identify endocrine disruptors.” (pdf)
EC (May 29, 2015). “Impact Assessment on criteria to identify EDs: options in the RM + public consultation + supporting studies.” (pdf)
