Phaseout of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Urged by EU Assembly

A resolution passed by the EU assembly says the Union’s regulation of chemicals should be based on the precautionary approach and calls on the European Commission to submit a list of substances that may be regarded as hormone-mimicking.

Arguing that “it is hardly possible” to set limit values for such chemicals, the resolution says those already on the market should be phased out and new substances not granted marketing licenses.

The Parliament also calls on the Commission to come forward with a proposal to phase out persistent and bioaccumulative substances with serious and irreversible effects on health and the environment.

The resolution is not binding but is designed to put pressure on the Commission as it draws up an initial strategy on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The Commission said it accepted the “general lines” of the resolution but added that “agreed test methods are a prerequisite for legislative action.”