The European Commission (EC) has announced the publication of a report presenting results from a public consultation on current EU legislation related to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The consultation was open for 12 weeks between December 2019 and March 2020 and received 474 responses, 90% of which were from individual citizens with the remaining being from academic institutions and civil society organizations.
The consultation found that a majority of respondents described themselves as very well informed (14%) or reasonably well informed (49%) about EDCs, while the remaining feel poorly informed (31%) or not at all informed (6%). Overall, 58% to 73% of participants believe that EU laws either do not protect them at all from exposure to EDCs or only to a small extent. Of the 12 product groups considered within the consultation, consumers felt that they are currently least protected from EDCs in the order of: (i) clothing, (ii) electric equipment, (iii) detergents, (iv) outdoor air, (v) food contact materials (FCMs), and (vi) personal care products. 93% of respondents believe that EDCs “contribute to a large or moderate extent to some human diseases or health conditions such as infertility, cancer or obesity,” and 72% to 81% believe that current EU laws provide a low level of protection for various wildlife groups from EDCs.
To address EDCs, the public survey found that citizens believe the EU should have the same approach across regulatory sectors when identifying them (86%) and when managing exposure to them (84%). It also found that many of the respondents think that EDCs have been insufficiently identified across product sectors.
In March 2020, the EC also published the results from a separate targeted stakeholder consultation on the issue (FPF reported). Both consultations were held within the context of the ongoing fitness check of EU legislation related to EDCs (FPF reported).
Read more
European Commission (April 15, 2020). “Regulating endocrine disrupting chemicals – what do citizens and stakeholders think?”
Chemical Watch (April 28, 2020). “EU survey: public feels EU laws insufficiently manage EDC risks.”
Reference
European Commission (April 2020). “Public Consultation in the context of a Fitness Check of the EU legislation with regard to Endocrine Disruptors: Factual Summary Report”
