POPs in the news

07/04/2022 -

The EU has some of the world’s strictest chemical controls but dangerous substances are still creeping into the market, threatening the health of workers, consumers and the environment. Dolores Romano and Andreea Anca look at the flaws in the Authorisation and Restriction procedures of EU’s main chemicals regulation. More:

EU Chemicals Regulation

Walking the EU’s talk on a toxic-free environment – Part 2

The EU has some of the world’s strictest chemical controls but dangerous substances are still creeping into the market, threatening the health of workers, consumers and the environment. Dolores Romano and Andreea Anca look at the flaws in the Authorisation and Restriction procedures of EU’s main chemicals regulation. More:

EU Chemicals Regulation
05/04/2022 -

The Commission is presenting proposals to update and modernise the Industrial Emissions Directive, key legislation to help prevent and control pollution. Updated rules will help guide industrial investments necessary for Europe's transformation towards a zero-pollution, competitive, climate-neutral economy by 2050. They aim to spur innovation, reward frontrunners, and help level the playing field on the EU market. More:

EU regulation on industrial pollution Access to Information on industrial emissions

Green Deal: Modernising EU industrial emissions rules to steer large industry in long-term green transition

The Commission is presenting proposals to update and modernise the Industrial Emissions Directive, key legislation to help prevent and control pollution. Updated rules will help guide industrial investments necessary for Europe's transformation towards a zero-pollution, competitive, climate-neutral economy by 2050. They aim to spur innovation, reward frontrunners, and help level the playing field on the EU market. More:

EU regulation on industrial pollution Access to Information on industrial emissions
05/04/2022 -

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) department responsible for protecting the public from toxic substances is working under a new definition of PFAS “forever chemicals” that excludes some of their widely used compounds. More:

Implication of PFAS definitions Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) Approval process under scrutiny

Scientists sound alarm at US regulator’s new ‘forever chemicals’ definition

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) department responsible for protecting the public from toxic substances is working under a new definition of PFAS “forever chemicals” that excludes some of their widely used compounds. More:

Implication of PFAS definitions Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) Approval process under scrutiny
04/04/2022 -

Humanity continues to generate waste at unimaginable levels and very little is recycled. It is simply dumped, with vast quantities ending up in the wider environment and the oceans, or it is burned, which produces unprecedented levels of atmospheric pollution. A review of the global scenario with respect to hazardous household waste fits this picture. More:


Review of the global scenario with respect to hazardous household waste offers stark warning

Humanity continues to generate waste at unimaginable levels and very little is recycled. It is simply dumped, with vast quantities ending up in the wider environment and the oceans, or it is burned, which produces unprecedented levels of atmospheric pollution. A review of the global scenario with respect to hazardous household waste fits this picture. More:

31/03/2022 -

In 2019, the Nordic Screening group decided to perform a screening on chlorinated paraffins, dechloranes and UV-filters. The following Nordic countries and self-governing areas are included in the project: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. More:

Occurrence in Environmental Media and Persistence Bioaccumulation

Screening of Chlorinated Paraffins, Dechloranes and UV-filters in Nordic Countries

In 2019, the Nordic Screening group decided to perform a screening on chlorinated paraffins, dechloranes and UV-filters. The following Nordic countries and self-governing areas are included in the project: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. More:

Occurrence in Environmental Media and Persistence Bioaccumulation
30/03/2022 -

Recent European Commission legal win against chemical industry group sets an important precedent, holding the door open for more systematic restrictions of substances hampering circular economy under the new revision of the Ecodesign Directive. More:

Human exposure Risk assessment of flame retardants Regulation of flame retardants

The ban on toxic flame retardant stays, chemical industry dismissed by EU court

Recent European Commission legal win against chemical industry group sets an important precedent, holding the door open for more systematic restrictions of substances hampering circular economy under the new revision of the Ecodesign Directive. More:

Human exposure Risk assessment of flame retardants Regulation of flame retardants
29/03/2022 -

After many heated debates on what constitutes sustainable business, the final pieces of the giant EU Taxonomy Regulation puzzle are now being developed and put into place. But what is the Taxonomy? How does it work? And how on Earth is it connected to hazardous chemicals? More:


Under construction: The chemical aspects of the Taxonomy Regulation – so far

After many heated debates on what constitutes sustainable business, the final pieces of the giant EU Taxonomy Regulation puzzle are now being developed and put into place. But what is the Taxonomy? How does it work? And how on Earth is it connected to hazardous chemicals? More:

24/03/2022 -

Independent testing of more than 100 packaging products from US restaurant and grocery chains identified PFAS chemicals in many of the wrappers, a Consumer Reports investigation has found. More:

Human exposure to PFAS Alternatives: Eliminating PFAS in Food Packaging

Revealed: the dangerous chemicals in your food wrappers

Independent testing of more than 100 packaging products from US restaurant and grocery chains identified PFAS chemicals in many of the wrappers, a Consumer Reports investigation has found. More:

Human exposure to PFAS Alternatives: Eliminating PFAS in Food Packaging
24/03/2022 -

Bayer reached an $80 million settlement with Ohio to resolve environmental damage allegedly caused by polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, made by the company's Monsanto business, the state attorney general said. More:


Bayer reaches $80 mln PCB contamination settlement with Ohio

Bayer reached an $80 million settlement with Ohio to resolve environmental damage allegedly caused by polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, made by the company's Monsanto business, the state attorney general said. More:

22/03/2022 -

Maine faces a crisis from PFAS-contaminated produce, which is causing farms to close and farmers to face the loss of their livelihoods. More:

Sewage sludge and PFAS contamination Sewage sludge regulation Regulation of PFAS Monitoring PFAS: Human Exposure and Health Effects PFAS Toxicity

‘I don’t know how we’ll survive’: the farmers facing ruin in Maine’s ‘forever chemicals’ crisis

Maine faces a crisis from PFAS-contaminated produce, which is causing farms to close and farmers to face the loss of their livelihoods. More:

Sewage sludge and PFAS contamination Sewage sludge regulation Regulation of PFAS Monitoring PFAS: Human Exposure and Health Effects PFAS Toxicity
22/03/2022 -

"Persistent organic pollutants are chemicals that are particularly harmful to the environment and human health," said French environment minister Barbara Pompili, for the EU presidency: "To secure the progress towards an increasingly circular economy, and to ensure the quality of secondary raw materials, it is crucial that waste does not contain persistent organic pollutants." More:

EU Regulation on Persistent Organic Pollutants

EU states agree to reduce persistent organic pollutants in waste

"Persistent organic pollutants are chemicals that are particularly harmful to the environment and human health," said French environment minister Barbara Pompili, for the EU presidency: "To secure the progress towards an increasingly circular economy, and to ensure the quality of secondary raw materials, it is crucial that waste does not contain persistent organic pollutants." More:

EU Regulation on Persistent Organic Pollutants
21/03/2022 -

The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) is a key piece of European Union legislation on pollution, regulating around 50,000 industrial installations in Europe. It was meant to achieve a high-level of protection for the health of humans and the environment but despite its strong potential, EU Member States and industry have used broad interpretations and exploited loopholes to shirk their responsibilities. More:


Mythbusting the Industrial Emissions Directive

The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) is a key piece of European Union legislation on pollution, regulating around 50,000 industrial installations in Europe. It was meant to achieve a high-level of protection for the health of humans and the environment but despite its strong potential, EU Member States and industry have used broad interpretations and exploited loopholes to shirk their responsibilities. More:

17/03/2022 -

No person is an island, and neither are hazardous chemicals. We are all being exposed to a virtual “cocktail” of hundreds – if not thousands – of potentially harmful substances every day. The cocktail effect needs to be considered when regulating substances of concern and calculating limit values. More:

Chemical Cocktails and Regulation Chemical Cocktails and Endocrine Disruption

The sober way to tackle the cocktail effect

No person is an island, and neither are hazardous chemicals. We are all being exposed to a virtual “cocktail” of hundreds – if not thousands – of potentially harmful substances every day. The cocktail effect needs to be considered when regulating substances of concern and calculating limit values. More:

Chemical Cocktails and Regulation Chemical Cocktails and Endocrine Disruption
17/03/2022 -

The Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) criteria could be the engine to move the whole economy away from hazardous chemicals and towards a more sustainable future. But it is important that it is just that and not simply a paper exercise – or worse: a tool for greenwashing. More:


The Big Five that can accelerate The Safe and Sustainable by Design criteria

The Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) criteria could be the engine to move the whole economy away from hazardous chemicals and towards a more sustainable future. But it is important that it is just that and not simply a paper exercise – or worse: a tool for greenwashing. More:

16/03/2022 -

According to the European Environmental Agency, we only have thorough information on the properties of 500 chemicals out of the 100,000 chemicals on the market. Meanwhile, industrial chemicals are omnipresent in the food we eat, the water we drink and the products we use daily at home and at work. This consistent exposure to the complex, potentially toxic mix of chemicals is linked to fuelling growing rates of cancer, reproductive disorders, and other modern-age metabolic diseases. More:

Chemical cocktails and health effects Effects on biodiversity EU Regulation

Walking the EU’s talk on a toxic-free environment – PART 1

According to the European Environmental Agency, we only have thorough information on the properties of 500 chemicals out of the 100,000 chemicals on the market. Meanwhile, industrial chemicals are omnipresent in the food we eat, the water we drink and the products we use daily at home and at work. This consistent exposure to the complex, potentially toxic mix of chemicals is linked to fuelling growing rates of cancer, reproductive disorders, and other modern-age metabolic diseases. More:

Chemical cocktails and health effects Effects on biodiversity EU Regulation
10/03/2022 -

Higher levels of exposure to toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” may increase the likelihood of Covid-19 infection, more serious symptoms and death, a group of recent studies have found. Public health advocates and researchers have feared since the coronavirus pandemic’s onset that PFAS, which are known to be immunotoxic, could hinder the body’s ability to fight Covid-19. More:

PFAS and Covid-19 Water contamination Human exposure to PFAS

Higher levels of PFAS exposure may increase chance of Covid, studies say

Higher levels of exposure to toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” may increase the likelihood of Covid-19 infection, more serious symptoms and death, a group of recent studies have found. Public health advocates and researchers have feared since the coronavirus pandemic’s onset that PFAS, which are known to be immunotoxic, could hinder the body’s ability to fight Covid-19. More:

PFAS and Covid-19 Water contamination Human exposure to PFAS
10/03/2022 -

A UN expert has warned of the creation of pollution “sacrifice zones” across the world, where tens of millions of people are suffering strokes, cancers, respiratory problems and heart disease as a result of toxic contamination of the environment. More:

Human Rights and Environment

Millions suffering in deadly pollution ‘sacrifice zones’, warns UN expert

A UN expert has warned of the creation of pollution “sacrifice zones” across the world, where tens of millions of people are suffering strokes, cancers, respiratory problems and heart disease as a result of toxic contamination of the environment. More:

Human Rights and Environment
10/03/2022 -

Agricultural pesticides were among the toxic pollutants found in the study, including the herbicide glyphosate and endocrine disruptors. Both these substances damage the environment, animals and plants, and have adverse effects on human health, with links to cancers and developmental disorders. More:

Regulation Water contamination

Toxic Rivers and the EU's Pesticide Problem

Agricultural pesticides were among the toxic pollutants found in the study, including the herbicide glyphosate and endocrine disruptors. Both these substances damage the environment, animals and plants, and have adverse effects on human health, with links to cancers and developmental disorders. More:

Regulation Water contamination
09/03/2022 -

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials reversed their previous finding that a widely used and highly toxic pesticide could jeopardize dozens of plants and animals with extinction, after receiving pledges from chemical manufacturers that they will change product labels for malathion so that it’s used more carefully by gardeners, farmers and other consumers. More:


US officials reverse course on pesticide’s harm to wildlife

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials reversed their previous finding that a widely used and highly toxic pesticide could jeopardize dozens of plants and animals with extinction, after receiving pledges from chemical manufacturers that they will change product labels for malathion so that it’s used more carefully by gardeners, farmers and other consumers. More:

08/03/2022 -

Scientists in Kenya have discovered an organic way of protecting potatoes from the invasive and highly destructive potato cyst nematodes that attack planted seed causing major yield and financial losses. More:


Banana waste wrap could help save potatoes

Scientists in Kenya have discovered an organic way of protecting potatoes from the invasive and highly destructive potato cyst nematodes that attack planted seed causing major yield and financial losses. More:

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