New investigation: “Lower the limit values ​​for all chemicals”

Emissions of chemicals in Sweden have changed. From high concentrations of single toxic chemicals such as DDT and PCBs, we now have lower concentrations of a variety of environmental toxins.

The overall effect often has a greater impact on us and nature than the effect of each substance individually.

- We see that learning disabilities in children are increasing, allergies are increasing and fertility is decreasing. At the same time, many permitted chemicals are allergenic and endocrine-disrupting substances, says Christina Rudén, professor at Stockholm University and the government's special investigator.

The researchers' hypothesis is that today's chemicals can be the cause of many of the health problems we see today.

But since they are about tens of thousands of chemicals that scientists cannot test on humans, it is difficult to prove on concrete cases.

- It is incredibly difficult to prove that a person got cancer from this particular subject. It's about when, where and how someone has been exposed to it. Everyone knows someone who has smoked their whole life without getting lung cancer. At the same time, we know that 50 percent of all smokers die from diseases caused by smoking. It's a probability calculation in the same way with chemicals, ”says Christina Rudén.

A new chemical investigation, presented to the government in early November, states that there is a clear crossroads.

Either large research resources are spent on finding out how different mixtures of tens of thousands of chemicals are spread and how they can affect us. It will take a long time and will require large resources.

Or you can do something much easier.

A radical reduction of the limit values ​​for all chemicals so that only one tenth of the current emissions can be released.

- It's an estimate, no one knows if a tenth of today's level is too much or too little. But that would mean an immediate reduction of the risks, says Christina Rudén.

There are tens of thousands of chemicals in our everyday lives. In the air, in our clothes, in detergents, packaging and in many other things we come into contact with.

Traditionally, the risks from these chemicals have been researched one by one - but over the past 15 years, researchers have increasingly begun to look at how the chemicals can add to each other's effects.

For example, an EU-funded study found mixtures of 41 hormone-disrupting chemicals in urine and serum samples from 2,300 pregnant women and could show the risks of the fetuses associated with these mixtures.

The new investigation is critical to the fact that the EU has not regulated chemicals with human health in mind. The aim of the directives is today to ensure good chemical status in the sea, lakes and rivers.

- This means that we know more about the risks of chemicals in watercourses than in humans. We think this is unfortunate and we want to see if you can transfer parts of the water directives to a health directive with man in focus, says Christina Rudén.

Representatives from the chemical industry believe that the development of a new chemical from idea to finished product is a process that can take ten years and requires huge investments.

"If we raise the safety level even further without any scientific basis for it, the threshold for new better chemicals will be even higher," says Kristina Neimert Carne, expert in chemical issues at the industry organization IKEM.

According to IKEM, there is a risk that existing chemicals will have an advantage if the limit values ​​are lowered. Then the risk is that new "better" chemicals that have a lower risk profile will never come out on the market.

- We would rather see the EU gathering power to develop better and more efficient risk assessment and screening methods, says Kristina Neimert Carne.

According to Christina Rudén, most players are positive about reducing the limit values ​​to one tenth.

—The people who work against it are the chemical manufacturing industry. If we had an industry that wanted to take responsibility, it would be easier.

The inquiry should now be sent for a referral. The government can then choose to change the legislation here in Sweden or to pursue the issue at EU level.

Read the full report here.

Want to know more about toxins in the Baltic Sea and how its conditions have changed over the last ten years, see the Baltic Sea program - threats and hope, in the Science of the World on Monday 25 November in SVT2, at. 20:00. The program can also be viewed on SVT Play.