Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) position statement promotes risk-based approach to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) post-Brexit; three NGOs argue in favor of increased use of Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) to identify EDCs
Green Alliance finds plastic-only strategies ‘not working’
Report cautions current regulatory approaches focused on plastics, instead encourages improving careful management of all materials; calls for urgent review of food contact materials, implementation of fiscal measures to reduce use across material types
ZWE estimates lower recycling rates for beverage cartons
Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) estimates recycling of beverage cartons for Germany, Spain, Sweden, and UK; uses EU’s updated recycling calculation methodology, finds results lower than reported previously by Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) ; ZWE recommends investment in reuse and recycling infrastructure, effective collection and sorting systems, widely recognized recyclability label
EU elections: NGOs call for action on chemicals
European NGOs publish manifestos ahead of EU parliamentary elections calling for action on a range of issues including exposure to hazardous chemicals, EDCs, and a clean circular economy
Supermarkets with ‘plastic-free’ aisles
Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza opens food and drink aisle without plastic packaging in one of its stores; compostable biomaterials, glass, metal, cardboard used as alternatives to conventional plastics
NIAS detection in food packaging materials
Review presents new analytical approaches to identify non-intentionally added substances in food packaging materials
EU roadmap for evaluating EDC regulations
EU Commission opens public consultation on roadmap for reviewing coherence of EU measures on endocrine disrupting chemicals and their effectiveness for protecting public health and the environment; responses accepted until July 10, 2019
Scientists agree: Possibly no thresholds for EDCs
EC Chief Scientific Advisor meets experts, consensus on EDC definition and non-threshold hypothesis; implications for risk assessment remain under debate
Sludge as observatory for chemical exposure
New study proposes to assess sludge as a proxy for human exposure; improving chemical risk assessment of chemicals of emerging concern
Microplastics detected in human testis and semen
Scientists assess microplastics in 30 human semen and 6 testis samples; first to demonstrate presence in human male reproductive system; review finds 9 out of 11 studies demonstrate that plastic particles can translocated across placental barrier