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The insights published in The EU Indicator Framework for Chemicals on 16 April 2024 by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) indicate that while the transition towards safer and more sustainable chemicals is progressing in some areas, it is just beginning in others and more work is needed to reduce the impact of harmful substances on human health and the environment.
“The health of European citizens and our environment should be a priority and this first-ever benchmarking shows that while chemicals have a positive role to play in our lives, further action is urgently needed to address the risks posed by the use of unsafe and unsustainable substances,” said EEA Executive Director Leena Ylä-Mononen. “The knowledge that is being generated in this assessment will help us shift to safe and sustainable chemicals in the future.”
Use of Most Harmful Chemicals Continues to Grow
The joint EEA-ECHA synthesis report on the EU indicator framework for chemicals indicates that the overall use of the most harmful chemicals - particularly those that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic - continues to grow, but at a slower pace compared to the overall chemicals market. Pressure is increasing to avoid the use of substances of concern and to implement the principles of the safe and sustainable by design framework.
Authorities now have much better knowledge about the hazardous properties of chemicals that are used across the EU, resulting in many actions to minimize and control the risks of several groups of substances.
"This is the result of the EU wanting more transparency on regulations and where the data is coming from and how it is collected,” said Grimanesa Till, Senior Chemical Business Advisor, Regulatory Consulting at 3E. However, she added, companies want to know if the data they're sharing and that is being collected by the Indicator Framework dashboards will be used for enforcement activities.
“They are collecting this data. How will it be used?” she questioned. “With criminal penalties proposed for environmental crimes, things just became more serious. It's no longer an administrative action or a fine. Environmental pollution could result in prison sentences."
Tracking the progress of the indicator framework would enhance comprehension of the EU's approach to addressing its chemical and environmental legislation, Till added.
According to EEA and ECHA, there is a need to more effectively ensure that consumer products do not contain the most harmful substances; for example, chemicals that are endocrine disrupting and that negatively affect the hormone system, or substances that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic, which present a risk for years to come even after their use has ceased.
“We need to accelerate the transition towards safe and sustainable chemicals. Action by authorities and industry has helped to minimize and control the risks from hazardous chemicals,” said ECHA Executive Director Sharon McGuinness. But, she added, “We need to further increase knowledge on chemicals and support risk management of groups of chemicals to protect people and the environment.”
The EU’s chemicals policies aim to tackle the challenge of producing and using chemicals while addressing societal needs, respecting planetary boundaries, and avoiding harm to humans and the environment. The EU’s Chemical Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) proposes to achieve this vision through a number of measures, including actions to:
- Support innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals
- Strengthen the protection of human health and the environment
- Simplify and strengthen the legal framework on chemicals, and
- Build a comprehensive knowledge base to support evidence-based policy making.
Dashboards Provide Insights into Impacts
The EU Indicator Framework for Chemicals - Synthesis Report includes an online dashboard, and the indicators are accessible through this dashboard. The indicator dashboard was developed by EEA, ECHA, the European Commission, and other European agencies. The synthesis report was written jointly by EEA and ECHA.
The chemicals indicator dashboard is composed of 25 quantitative indicators providing insights into the drivers and impacts of chemical pollution in the EU. What could have a greater long-term influence are the 22 “signals” that accompany the qualitative indicators. The signals provide additional insights for qualitative and/or quantitative data and may indicate a trend for a specific phenomenon that is deemed worth exploring despite incomplete information at this point.
For example, notes the report, signals suggest that “substances of concern continue to be present in waste and secondary raw materials such as treated wastewater, sewage sludge, and consumer goods made of recycled materials.” The report adds that these substances present a potential risk to human health and to the environment, which points to the need “for concentrating preventive efforts upstream in the supply chain, at the design and production phases.”
“Such substances need to be avoided as much as possible to foster a toxic-free circular economy,” claims the report.
While the quantitative indicators show that waste recycling is improving, signals indicate that there are still some barriers to the recycling of specific wastes such as plastic. Furthermore, according to the report, “Recycling processes and waste management solutions continue to pose challenges to human health and ecosystems in terms of human exposure during the treatment of electric and electronic equipment, and chemical emissions to the environment from landfilling.”
More data and information are needed to better understand human and environmental exposure to those most harmful chemicals and their impacts, note EEA and ECHA. Still, the indicators show clearly that the shift to safe and sustainable chemicals must continue and should even be accelerated.
"The EU has to strike a balance between the ongoing use and innovation of chemicals, remaining competitive in the marketplace, and the health and safety of citizens and the environment,” said 3E’s Till. “The aim of the framework is to tackle the challenge of producing and using chemicals while addressing societal needs, respecting planetary boundaries, and avoiding harm to humans and the environment. We will have to wait and see if it accomplishes those goals."
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About the author: Sandy Smith, Industry Editor, 3E, is an award-winning newspaper reporter and business-to-business journalist who has spent 20+ years researching and writing about EHS, regulatory compliance, and risk management and networking with EHS professionals. She is passionate about helping to build and maintain safe workplaces and promote workplace cultures that support EHS. She has presented at major conferences and has been interviewed about workplace safety and risk by The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and USA Today.
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