On December 3, 2020, news provider Chemical Watch reported on NGOs’ and industries’ objections to the newly proposed changes to REACH Annexes VII and XI.
The European Commission (EC) had opened a consultation on the draft amendment on October 26 (FPF reported). Even though not specifically referring to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the main purpose of changes according to the EC was to “clarify unclear or inconsistent wording and to update data requirements so that endocrine disruptors, which can have harmful effects on the body’s endocrine (hormone) system, can be more easily identified and assessed.”
However, the proposed changes have been criticized by NGOs and industry alike to not address that purpose, in addition to :
- not taking into account “the current state of science”
- limiting the application of non-animal approaches
- setting the cut-off point for existing data from June 1, 2008
The EC adopted the cut-off due to “‘uncertainty’ over what is considered existing data when registrants want to adapt Annex XI’s standard testing .” This point has raised high concern, particularly among animal welfare NGOs who argue inclusion of such an arbitrary cut-off date would only lead to the repetition of animal studies. The Center for Alternatives in Animal Testing (CAAT-Europe) stated that “the evaluation of the quality and suitability of the data generated by the test should be independent of the time when the test was performed.”
Read More
Emma Davies (December 3, 2020). “Industry, NGOs object to proposed REACH Annex changes on endocrine disruptors” Chemical Watch
European Commission (November 16, 2020). “Chemicals – clarification of requirements for registering, evaluating, authorising and restricting chemicals.”
