EU offensive against dangerous chemicals
Audio 01:13
Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice (here in June 2021).
AP - Francisco Seco
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Flame retardants, PVC, dioxins or PCBs, the European Union wants to ban thousands of chemical substances all at once.
1,775 are banned today, a figure that could be quadrupled, as the European Commission proposes massive bans by 2030. Almost all manufactured goods on sale in the European Union could be affected, according to the NGO European Environmental Bureau.
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With our correspondent in Brussels,
Pierre Benazet
Benzylbutyl, dimethyl, phthalates in general, polyfluoroalkyl and other bisphenols, all are in the sights of the European Commission.
We regularly see alerts in Europe leading to specific bans, such as phthalates for play mats in nurseries.
But now, it is entire families of chemical compounds, groups of substances that will find themselves in the crosshairs.
Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice, also responsible for consumer protection,
presented this Monday, April 25
the results of alerts on dangerous objects sold this year in the Union.
He held in his hand, for example, an electric kettle made in Sweden whose plastic contained, among other harmful substances, chlorinated paraffins.
“
The growth of e-commerce and the expansion of new technologies, two trends accentuated during the Covid-19 pandemic, present numerous product safety risks for consumers.
And as regards alerts on products posing a risk to the environment, they have doubled compared to last year
,” said Didier Reynders.
Safety Gate: Motor vehicles and toys top the list of dangerous non-food products this year 📌#ProductSafety
📸&📽️ https://t.co/j4J5xd9cil pic.twitter.com/aHoZfQAgCi
— EC AV Service (@EC_AVService) April 25, 2022
Twelve thousand substances which represent three quarters of the approximately 300 million tonnes of chemical substances produced in Europe are deemed to be dangerous for the environment or health.
Eventually, between 4,000 and 7,000 substances should be banned in the European Union.
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