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(ACC Mentioned) Politicians, Not PACs, Should Speak For Their Own Efforts
Nov 23, 2017 | Wyoming Tribune
By Dawn Chestnutt
Recently, I have been seeing commercials touting John Barrasso and how he cares for the Wyoming people. -
US Children’s Products Trade Group Refutes NGO Chemical Ranking
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
US trade group the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association criticised an NGO report — which grades retailers’ on their efforts to tackle chemicals of concern — for implying children’s products could be toxic. -
Head of UN Environment Calls for 'Targeted Intervention' on Hazardous Chemicals
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
In his vision to combat the rise in global pollution, UN Environment executive director, Erik Solheim (pictured), has set out measures to address hazardous chemicals. -
ToxCast and Tox21 High-Throughput Data Identify Potential EDCs
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
ToxCast and Tox21 high-throughput screening data provide a "rapid and effective resource" for identifying substances with the potential to activate human oestrogen (estrogen) receptors (ERs), according to a top US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official. -
US NAS Workshop Raises Issue of Animal Tests as 'Gold Standard'
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The issue of whether animal test methods should be used as as a "gold standard" against which to judge the alternatives was raised by multiple attendees at a recent US workshop on toxicity testing and decision making. -
Echa: Non-Animal Tests for Complex Endpoints Remain Distant
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Non-animal approaches for the prediction of higher-tier hazard endpoints that would be applicable under EU chemical legislation are "not foreseen" in the near or medium term, according to analysis by Echa. -
Echa Round-up
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Echa will extend the public consultation comment period on harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) proposals from 45 to 60 days from 1 January 2018. -
UK Government Wants Brexit Deal Validity for REACH Registrations
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The UK government has reaffirmed its position that it wants existing REACH registrations and authorisations to remain valid in both the EU and UK markets after Brexit. -
Furniture Trade Body Welcomes EU Warning on Flame Retardants
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
The European Furniture Industries Confederation (Efic) has welcomed a warning, included in the revised EU Green Public Procurement criteria, on the negative effects of flame retardant use.
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(ACC Mentioned) Politicians, Not PACs, Should Speak For Their Own Efforts
Nov 23, 2017 | Wyoming Tribune
By Dawn Chestnutt
Recently, I have been seeing commercials touting John Barrasso and how he cares for the Wyoming people. These ads are paid for by the American Chemistry Council, which is a trade group representing chemical companies, with a political action committee that has spent millions since 2013 to see candidates get elected that support their beliefs.
It seems odd to me that we need to be reminded by a PAC from outside Wyoming regarding Senator Barrasso’s efforts.
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Story can be found here: http://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/politicians-not-pacs-should-speak-for-their-own-efforts/article_98690672-cfea-11e7-be26-0f3c5f1ac780.html
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US Children’s Products Trade Group Refutes NGO Chemical Ranking
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
US trade group the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association criticised an NGO report — which grades retailers’ on their efforts to tackle chemicals of concern — for implying children’s products could be toxic.
Kelly Mariotti, executive director of the JPMA, told Chemical Watch that children’s products "cannot present either acute or chronic hazards to children" because they are "heavily regulated" under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act and Consumer Product Safety Act, and most products were tested by government-accredited laboratories before sale.
She said: "We are extremely confident these products are safe and would be verified as safe by any board-certified toxicologist. The claims here are false and misleading, which is why we urge all responsible parties to either verify them or retract them from publication."
The ‘report card’ by the Mind the Store coalition of NGOs ranked 30 retailers across 11 sectors on their chemicals policies.
The eight baby and children’s products retailers assessed received an average D+ grade, matching the average retailer performance on safer chemicals.
Co-author of the report and executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center, Mike Belliveau, told Chemical Watch: "We did find that the baby product sector is a laggard in ensuring the chemical safety of the products they sell. That should be a wake-up call to action for most consumers and the retailers."
In a Mind the Store press release, Bobbi Wilding, coordinator of the Getting Ready for Baby campaign, called on Toys R Us subsidiary Babies R Us, and Buybuy Baby to make "vast improvements" in 2018.
However, Frederick Locker, attorney at Locker Greenberg & Brainin LLP, the independent general counsel for JPMA, told Chemical Watch: "The premise of the reports and supporting campaigns is a claim the mere presence of a substance or material renders products toxic; rather than a toxicological assessment of hazardous exposure. There is a significant distinction."'Drop in the bucket'
In response to the JPMA’s comments, Mr Belliveau said: "This report is not an assessment of the safety of an individual product, it is a comparison of leaders and laggards in the retail sector regarding policies and practices that are designed to ensure that chemical safety in the products they buy and sell."
He added: "There are thousands of dangerous chemicals and untested chemicals in commerce. The US government has only outright banned two classes of chemicals in toys in recent times, which is lead compounds and phthalates. That’s a drop in the bucket."
Ms Wilding said in response to the JPMA: "Baby products retailers were evaluated with the same criteria looking at their corporate practices. You don’t need to look any further than the Washington State database on chemicals of concerns in children’s products to realise that there are chemicals of concern being reported by manufacturers in products made for children."
She added: "We stand by our concern in making sure that products made for children are made without chemicals of concern, because we are concerned about eliminating the hazards."Toys R Us
Toys R Us and its subsidiary Babies R Us, received an F grade, scoring five out of a possible 135 points and ranking 22nd out of 30 retailers.
The report says the store is "failing to publicly address toxic chemicals in the products they sell". Toys R Us missed out on points because it does not publish a corporate responsibility report or other public facing documents that summarise their efforts to address chemicals of concern.
A spokesperson for Toys R Us said that, because the report based its grades on publicly available information, it did not reflect its actual policies or programmes.
Buybuy Baby did not respond to Chemical Watch’s request for comment by the time of publishing.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61972/us-childrens-products-trade-group-refutes-ngo-chemical-ranking
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Head of UN Environment Calls for 'Targeted Intervention' on Hazardous Chemicals
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Leigh Stringer
In his vision to combat the rise in global pollution, UN Environment executive director, Erik Solheim (pictured), has set out measures to address hazardous chemicals.
Mr Solheim's report, Towards a Pollution-Free Planet, outlines actions to tackle the issue around the world and highlights chemicals of concern as a "hard-hitting" target. The report has been prepared for the third United Nations Environment Assembly (Unea-3) in Nairobi, Kenya between 4 and 6 December which has the overarching theme of pollution.
The framework targets substances already addressed through multilateral agreements — such as those covered by the UN's Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions. The aim will be to identify — and take action on — areas where implementation and enforcement of these substances needs to be strengthened and scaled up. Examples of where action can be taken include:identifying alternatives;providing additional finances to curb risks;capacity building; andencouraging industry support.
A second target category will be pollutants where scientific evidence already exists to justify new interventions to reduce the risk that they pose, for example for heavy metals. Actions, it says, could include enforcing new emissions standards and improving chemical labelling schemes.
A third category focuses on substances where the emerging scientific evidence of the "nature and magnitude of their risk to human health and the environment points to the need for further investigation and better understanding of those risks", such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
"There is a need to step up research into, and build understanding of, the potential risks of these substances, especially in developing countries," the report says.Chemicals and waste
The report sets out 50 broad policy options to address air, water, land/soil, marine and coastal, and chemicals and waste pollution. Of these, 19 come under chemicals and waste.
These include:adopt sound chemicals management and advance sustainable chemistry within business approaches, policies and practices;increase efforts to deploy locally safe, effective, affordable and environmentally sound alternatives to chemicals of concern, including DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), asbestos, lead and mercury;accelerate the implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, the Minamata Convention and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management in a coordinated manner at the national level;improve knowledge relating to chemicals in products throughout their life cycle (production, use, consumption and disposal); andincrease publicly available information and monitor data on the presence of chemicals in the environment, in humans and in pollution hotspots.
Last month, the EU Council of Ministers called on UN member states to help increase knowledge of hazardous substances, encourage the exchange of information on chemicals in products and replace hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives.
It called upon the assembly meeting to decide upon concrete measures to deal with specific issues such as endocrine disruptors and heavy metals.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61990/head-of-un-environment-calls-for-targeted-intervention-on-hazardous-chemicals
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ToxCast and Tox21 High-Throughput Data Identify Potential EDCs
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
ToxCast and Tox21 high-throughput screening data provide a "rapid and effective resource" for identifying substances with the potential to activate human oestrogen (estrogen) receptors (ERs), according to a top US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official.
Stan Barone, acting director of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, was describing progress in using ER high-throughput assays for tier 1 of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) at a workshop on toxicity testing and decision making.
The EDSP uses an oestrogen receptor model that integrates data from 18 high-throughput assays. The agency has recently been looking into whether it actually needs all of the tests to get the same predictive validity from the model, and has a publication in press. "The short answer is we don't need 18 assays," said Dr Barone.
The EDSP is making good progress on an androgen receptor model, which integrates 11 in vitro assays, he added.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (Fifra SAP) is set to discuss the tests between 28 and 29 November.Limitations
Like most alternative approaches, the high-throughput assays have limitations, Dr Barone explained. These include metabolism and solubility issues. False negatives can result from low solubility, which limits test chemical concentrations. Furthermore, reactive compounds, metals and particulates tend not to work well in the low volume, high-throughput assays, he added. The EPA is conducting research to address these issues.
The agency is also looking into "critical performance criteria" to include in a performance-based guideline to help stakeholders understand data and documentation requirements.
One of the lessons learned is that annotating assays is "critically important for acceptance", said Dr Barone.
Understanding pathways to a paradigm shift in toxicity testing and decision making was held by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington DC between 20 and 21 November.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61994/toxcast-and-tox21-high-throughput-data-identify-potential-edcs
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US NAS Workshop Raises Issue of Animal Tests as 'Gold Standard'
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
The issue of whether animal test methods should be used as as a "gold standard" against which to judge the alternatives was raised by multiple attendees at a recent US workshop on toxicity testing and decision making.
"It is one of the big challenges that we face," said Anna Lowit, co-chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (Iccvam) and senior science adviser at the US EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.
"One of the things that we are finding is that we are having the most success in areas where human data exists to make those comparisons," she added. As an example, she pointed to recent research suggesting that OECD test guidelines for skin sensitisation may give better predictions of human toxicity than the local lymph node assay (LLNA) in rodents.
Maurice Whelan, head of the EU Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EURL Ecvam), described the relevance and variability of animal test results as the "elephant in the room". In the case of alternative skin sensitisation test methods, discussing it with regulatory committees resulted in an important step forwards. "What's the variability of the LLNA data? ... From the human data that we have, we know it's not perfect."Rodent retreat
Meanwhile, Dr Lowit spoke of progress in moving away from rodent tests for skin irritants, and effects in the nasal cavity and lung tissue.
"Industry partners are working towards actually eliminating the 28-day and 90-day rate inhalation study, just because it's not really relevant to humans," she said. "We can do better with animal 3D tissues combined with sophisticated pharmacokinetic modelling and just avoid the animal completely."
She predicted that: "When we start to tackle complicated things, like cancer and developmental reprotoxicity, we will have enough experience under our belt, in a way that we won't have to hold up the rat and the mouse models as a gold standard." The importance of uncertainty
Finally, workshop participants agreed on the need to understand the uncertainties associated with alternative test methods.
The skin sensitisation case "highlights the importance of something that we have neglected for many years: appreciating that, in fact, understanding uncertainty, describing it, talking about it, is extremely important for moving towards people using new approaches," said Professor Whelan.
"The good news is that we won't have to start from scratch. There is an awful lot of rigorous scientific-based work being done on how to go about describing uncertainties."
Understanding pathways to a paradigm shift in toxicity testing and decision making was organised by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and held in Washington, DC on 20-21 November.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61992/us-nas-workshop-raises-issue-of-animal-tests-as-gold-standard
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Echa: Non-Animal Tests for Complex Endpoints Remain Distant
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Non-animal approaches for the prediction of higher-tier hazard endpoints that would be applicable under EU chemical legislation are "not foreseen" in the near or medium term, according to analysis by Echa.
Non-animal approaches in general are the subject of "very active ongoing research", the agency said in a report on the current status of regulatory applicability of such approaches under the REACH, CLP and biocidal products Regulations. Furthermore, those for the prediction of certain lower-tier endpoints, such as skin irritation, corrosion and sensitisation, have become standards, as defined by the legislation.
But non-animal approaches for the prediction of more complex endpoints, such as repeated dose or reproductive toxicity, remain far off, the report said.Challenges
The report outlines several challenges to the development of such approaches and their uptake in regulatory contexts.
First, they do not always provide the same levels of information as their animal equivalents in terms of the dose- or concentration-response relationship and adverse effects, it says. Some still under development could provide higher levels of information than current ones. These include approaches based on in vitromicrosystems and high-throughput or high-content approaches. But these will still require standardisation and validation before they can be used in regulatory contexts.
Second, standardisation and validation is complicated by the plurality of approaches required, compared with animal equivalents. Regulators must work out how data generated by non-animal approaches that do not have a direct relationship with an endpoints specified in CLP, can be used for classification and for the derivation of safe use levels.
The agency suggests that an inventory of non-animal approaches that shows stage of development and regulatory applicability would help to identify gaps and determine future steps to enhance use.
The report, requested by Echa’s management board, is the first of its kind. In previous reports, requested by the European Commission and published in 2011, 2014 and 2017, Echa provided data on companies’ use of non-animal approaches under REACH.
In contrast, for each relevant information requirement, the new report provides:the potential non-animal approaches;the challenges to achieving their use in regulatory contexts; andfuture perspectives, including of those approaches that could be close to regulatory applicability.
In a foreword, outgoing Echa executive director Geert Dancet says he hopes the report will act as a guide for the scientific community.
Animal rights NGO Humane Society International (HSI) questioned "the continued emphasis on animal methods as the basis for comparison of the viability of new methods". Such emphasis presumes that toxicology studies on animals are the only valid approach, it said.
"These words must now be backed-up by more positive practical action and financial support for the promotion of non-animal approaches."
Furthermore, future reviews should be led by "mandated bodies", such as the European Commission Reference Laboratory for Alternatives (EURL-Ecvam), HSI said.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61997/echa-non-animal-tests-for-complex-endpoints-remain-distant
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Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
Extension of public consultation on CLHEcha will extend the public consultation comment period on harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) proposals from 45 to 60 days from 1 January 2018. The reason for this is to allow more time for the parties concerned to prepare and submit their comments, the agency says.Testing proposals
The agency has received twelve testing proposals for eight substances. The deadline for submitting information is 8 January 2018.Translations:Guidance on labelling and packaging
Translations of the updated Guidance on labelling and packaging (version 3.0) published in July, are now available in 23 EU languages on Echa's website.Information on manual verification
The agency's advice for manual verification at the completeness check was updated in October. Translations in 22 EU languages are now available.Survey of SVHC Roadmap tools
Echa is reviewing, with member states and the European Commission, implementation of the roadmap for SVHC identification and REACH risk management measures from now to 2020 (the SVHC Roadmap).
In particular, the agency is looking for ideas on how to improve current tools that have been developed to enhance and support the transparency and predictability of the work of authorities.Survey of poison centres website
Echa is planning an update of the poison centres website and would like users' opinion on the current content. Its online survey will take about five to ten minutes to complete, it says.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61947/echa-round-up
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UK Government Wants Brexit Deal Validity for REACH Registrations
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Luke Buxton
The UK government has reaffirmed its position that it wants existing REACH registrations and authorisations to remain valid in both the EU and UK markets after Brexit.
And, according to a government spokeperson, the matter has been a key topic of the opening phase of Brexit negotiations.
The comments were due to be made in a speech by Steve Baker, a junior minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union at last week's Brexit conference, which was hosted by the Chemical Industries Association (CIA). Mr Baker was forced to pull out at the last minute but supplied his speaker's notes to the organisation.
"The UK’s position is clear," the notes say. "We want existing registrations, authorisations and approvals to remain valid in both the EU and UK markets. Clearly, this is in the interests of businesses in the UK and the EU. [The government] recognises the complex compliance activity that takes place through supply chains.
"We understand the concerns of businesses regarding the validity of their REACH registrations, as well as the costs that industry have already invested to comply with REACH," he says. "We have been listening to what businesses and others have been telling us about their concerns for the future and the potential impacts and opportunities of EU Exit. We will continue do this.
"I can assure you that this matter has been a key topic of the opening phase of negotiations. Our position paper on this in August sets out the UK’s principles for ensuring goods continue to be available on UK and EU markets."
The CBA, CIA and Cefic have all called for regulatory consistency and for the country to remain in REACH. Failure to do so, they say, might result in British registrations and authorisation applications becoming invalid.Continuity
In the short-term, Mr Baker’s notes say, the EU Withdrawal Bill will provide "continuity" for the chemicals sector, because it is "designed to ensure" that the UK exits the Union with "certainty, continuity and control".
According to the notes, the UK wants:high standards of protection of human health and the environment;to make sure it can respond to emerging risks; andto make sure it can minimise barriers to trade.
Britain and the EU start from "the unique position" of regulatory alignment, Mr Baker says. "So the question for us now, in building a new economic partnership, is not how we bring our rules and regulations closer together, but how we manage our interdependence in a way that maintains the balance of rights and obligations that flow from this regulatory relationship."
It is in the "mutual interests" of the UK and EU chemicals industries to agree a deal that allows the greatest possible tariff-free and barrier-free trade in chemicals.
In the "unlikely scenario" that no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached, the government will "make sure we continue to have a functioning chemicals regulatory and enforcement system".
Earlier this month, CIA and Cefic said failure to secure a transition period and a new UK/EU trade agreement after Brexit could cost the chemicals industry an extra €1.5bn a year.Collaboration
The chemicals sector, Mr Baker’s notes say, is "the industry of industries", and one of the UK’s "core objectives" is to continue to collaborate with European partners on major science, research and technology initiatives.
"The UK will look to build on its unique relationship with the EU and establish an agreement on science and innovation that ensures the valuable research links between us continue to grow."
And the notes say "stakeholder engagement is a central element" of the government’s plan to build its negotiating positions.
Industry and NGOs have both called for business to "speak up" for a better Brexit, through cooperation and more visibly communicating their concerns.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61984/uk-government-wants-brexit-deal-validity-for-reach-registrations
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Furniture Trade Body Welcomes EU Warning on Flame Retardants
Nov 23, 2017 | Chemical Watch
By Tammy Lovell
The European Furniture Industries Confederation (Efic) has welcomed a warning, included in the revised EU Green Public Procurement criteria, on the negative effects of flame retardant use.
GPP criteria for furniture are voluntary guidelines, which aim to help public authorities purchase products and services with reduced environmental impacts.
In the staff working document on the EU GPP, the European Commission notes that the open flame test for upholstered furniture (EN 1021-2) requires a lower level of flammability than the European 'smoulder ignition test' (EN 1021-1).
It says the open flame test can lead to use of flame retardant chemicals which "may have negative effects for the environment, health, durability and quality of products, and may lead to cost increases".
The guidelines urge public authorities to "therefore consider, according to the intended use and location of the furniture items, what levels of flammability it needs to require."'A first step’
Efic general secretary, Roberta Dessi, told Chemical Watch that the association was glad the Commission had adopted this recommendation.
She said: "It is a first step. We believe that this can help raise awareness among member states about the consequences of choosing certain flammability tests for furniture."
But she added that the "sustainability part" of public tenders is often accompanied by demands for very stringent flammability standards. This leads to widespread use of flame retardants "in contradiction with the aim of having truly green procurements".
She urged member states to "use this feedback to re-evaluate the need for such stringent standards for furniture in their national requirements, in the light of the overwhelming scientific evidence on risks connected to flame retardant use."
The UK and Ireland are the only EU countries to have national regulations requiring an open flame test, which effectively necessitates the use of flame retardants. Last year, Efic lodged a complaint with the Commission on the basis that these standards pose a barrier to trade in the single market.Furniture design
The GPP criteria technical report acknowledges that the need for flame retardants can potentially be avoided by "careful choice of materials and product design". But it says that this type of upholstered furniture "can be considered to only represent a niche market at this stage and, unlike California, current fire safety standards in Europe for public furniture are currently not well set up to embrace this approach."
California removed its open flame test in 2013. Prior to that, California’s Technical Bulletin (TB) 117 had served as the de facto national standard, which effectively required the use of flame retardants.
The report adds that the lack of a harmonised approach to fire safety standards, at the European level, means that "any potential restrictions on flame retardants, recommended in EU GPP criteria, may conflict with specific member state legislation."
Ms Dessi responded: "Our campaign is aimed at having a more proactive approach from European institutions, in making the case for flame retardant free furniture possible."
She also noted: "In addition to the environmental and health impact, there is a growing concern that flame retardants may increase fire toxicity. This would also seriously question any concrete fire safety benefit from their use."
Efic is a member of the Alliance for Flame Retardant Free Furniture in Europe, a coalition of stakeholders including industry associations and environmental NGOs.
Last year, the coalition published a paper, The Case for Flame Retardant free Furniture, calling for the EU to harmonise fire safety regulations so that the chemicals were not required for them to be met.
Efic have argued that the use of flame retardants and other chemicals may prevent the furniture sector from fully entering the circular economy.
Earlier this year, San Francisco banned the sale of upholstered furniture and children’s products, "made with or containing an added flame retardant chemical". More than a dozen US states have banned some categories of the chemicals.
https://chemicalwatch.com/61983/furniture-trade-body-welcomes-eu-warning-on-flame-retardants
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