On March 1, 2018, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published a report entitled “Chemicals for a sustainable future – Report of the EEA Scientific Committee seminar.” The report is based on the presentations and discussions that were part of a seminar the EEA’s Scientific Committee held on May 17, 2017.
Ten key messages were formulated during the seminar:
1) The production of chemicals is growing and poses risks to ecosystems and human health;
2) European legislation managed to reduce acute pollution, but chronic effects persist;
3) exposure patterns are influenced by environmental and societal megatrends;
4) science traditionally underestimates chemical risks;
5) targeted innovation is needed to move towards green and sustainable chemistry;
6) focus on critical parameters is more important than collecting more general data;
7) monitoring a wide variety of chemicals can help issue early warnings;
8) policy approaches need further integration in support of sustainability objectives;
9) upstream use of persistent and hazardous chemicals should be avoided; and
10) visionary and inclusive stakeholder approaches are needed to create a less toxic environment.
Read more
Chemical Watch (March 1, 2018). “European Environment Agency urges ‘inclusive, visionary’ chemicals policies.”
Reference
EEA (March 1, 2018). “Chemicals for a sustainable future – Report of the EEA Scientific Committee seminar.”
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