The European Union is very late with a serious proposal that definitively excludes dangerous chemicals in diapers.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousThe European Union is very late with a serious proposal that definitively excludes dangerous chemicals in diapers
Toxic diapers, we talk about it again. From carcinogens to hormonal disruptors, not everyone knows that disposable nappies can contain a whole range of chemicals that are hazardous to human health. This means that babies and young children can be exposed to these substances for a long period of time during a stage of their development where they are particularly vulnerable.
Now, in an open letter, 34 civil society groups are urging the European Commission to support the ifs and buts the proposal made by the French authorities to limit a group of extremely dangerous substances in disposable baby diapers.
It was in fact 2020 when France presented a proposal to limit well-known dangerous substances - formaldehyde, pyrene (PAH), dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - in disposable baby diapers across Europe. Substances which, it seems, are added unintentionally during the production process. READ HERE: Disposable diapers: France wants to set limits for formaldehyde and dioxin across the EU.
But in recent weeks, ECHA's (European Chemicals Agency) Socio-Economic Assessment Committee (SEAC) has rejected France's proposal in a new written opinion.
ClientEarth, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Zero Waste Europe (ZWE), Zero Waste Lviv, Nappy Alliance, Gallifrey Foundation, She Changes Climate and other groups are now calling on the Commission to protect children and ban these substances in diapers in a letter.
As the substances in question have harmful properties and children can be exposed for an extended period of time, ECHA cannot rule out the existence of a risk to children's health, so blocking attempts to change this dangerous situation is unacceptable. says Hélène Duguy, a lawyer with the environmental law charity ClientEarth.
In practice, ECHA committees believe that there are too many uncertainties to conclude that hazardous substances in diapers pose a risk. However, they acknowledge that the available evidence does not allow them to rule out risks to babies and recommend that these substances not be present in diapers.
We hope that the Commission will take a precautionary approach and prohibit these toxic chemicals.
The European Commission now has three months to submit a final restriction proposal which will then be voted on by the competent authorities of the Member States in the REACH Committee.
HERE the letter.
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Fonte: Health and environment alliance
Read also:
- Dioxin and other toxic substances in diapers: the alarm (and analyzes) of the French agency
- Carcinogens in Pampers diapers: the alarm from France
