The 10 largest environmental NGOs have written a letter on the need to exclude fossil fuels from the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the largest envelope in Next…
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) is the leading European not-for-profit organisation addressing how the natural and built environment affects health in the European Union. HEAL welcomes the priority that…
Taking on the plastics challenge in a way that puts health and the environment first to deliver on Europe’s Zero Pollution ambition requires upgrading European regulations on chemicals and articles in which they are used, encompassing the entire lifecycle of plastics.
What kind of city do we want to live in? Normally we don’t think much about that in our daily lives, but with the COVID pandemic we’ve also had to re-think the ways we move about in our cities.
Environmental health advocates have welcomed today’s release of the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability as a major step forward in the delivery of Europe’s Zero Pollution Objective. They however insisted…
Register today to take part in the online symposium ‘Endocrine Disruptors: reduce the impact on our health’, organised by the Belgian Mutualités Libres on 19 November 2020.
As an important European Commission meeting was due to take place on 1st October to iron out some of the last contentious aspects of the strategy under development, several media outlets across Europe today reported further frictions.
Over 250 organisations and coalitions representing millions of citizens have urged EU leaders to make sure the CAP negotiations shape a policy that reflects the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy.
Say NO to a toxic Europe - sign the petition (available in multiple languages) to demand a EU chemicals strategy that protects health and the environment.
The EU’s recovery package is the not-to-be-missed opportunity to lead us to a healthier future and should not extend a lifeline to the pollution that is making us sick, writes HEAL President Peter van den Hazel in EURACTIV.
Green 10, together with the European Trade Union Confederation, sent a letter to Vice-President Šefčovič ahead of the publication of the Communication reforming the European Commission's better regulation rules. Full…
In her first State of the Union speech, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today proposed upping the EU’s 2030 target for GHG emission reductions from the current -40%…
Today, the European Parliament has adopted its position on the 17.5 billion EUR Just Transition Fund. HEAL, together with 64 other organisations, has been advocating to exclude fossil gas from…
HEAL is among the 64 signatories of an open letter to members of the European Parliament, ahead of it voting on its position on the Just Transition Fund on 15 September 2020.
The production, use and recycling of plastics are not only the source of significant pollution of our environment, but they also have consequences for our health. Today the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) releases the primer ‘Turning the Plastic Tide’, aiming to shine a light on a rarely explored perspective to plastic pollution: the undeniable link between the synthetic chemicals used in plastics and their effects on our health.
‘Turning the Plastic Tide’ introduces readers to health concerns over our exposure to the chemicals coming at play throughout the entire lifecycle of plastics. It unwraps the grave challenge that the chemicals constituents involved at every stage – monomers, additives – pose to achieve a clean and healthy circular economy. The report also highlights the need for a broad definition of plastics that allows one to define the full scale of plastic contamination, including the all-pervasive problem of microplastics.
Exposure to chemicals used in plastics, like flame retardants, endocrine disruptors, PFAS, bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates has been associated with a myriad of potential health impacts. For example, health concerns related to endocrine disruptors include reproductive disorders, development dysfunction, behavioural disorders, thyroid problems, low birth weight, diabetes and obesity, asthma, breast and prostate cancers.
Stronger regulations for Europe-wide solutions and better health
HEAL’s new primer is being launched at a crucial time for the delivery of Europe’s promises towards bettering future European legislation on chemicals and reaching the zero-pollution ambition. The release of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, a key component of the European Green Deal, is expected in the autumn of 2020. If well crafted, this could be the most transformative chemical policy initiative at European level since REACH was launched in 2006.
Solving the environmental pollution and health impacts of plastics is only possible by acknowledging that the problems of plastics are inextricably linked to chemical safety. Effective protection of health and environment will require stronger, more efficient and protective EU-wide regulations on chemicals and articles in which they are used. And those regulations need to encompass the entire lifecycle of plastics if they are to truly contribute to the transition to a non-toxic circular economy.
Our recommendations for regulators to turn the plastic tide include:
Plastique : Inverser La Tendance
Les substances chimiques dans les plastiques qui mettent notre santé en peril.
Invertire Il Trend Della Plastica
Le sostanze chimiche presenti nella plastica che mettono a rischio la nostra salute.
Sustancias químicas del plástico que perjudican la salud.
7 September 2020 marks the first ever International Day for Clean Air and Blue Skies, organised by the United Nations (UN). HEAL works with members and partners in over 15…
Recent revelations on major disagreements within the European Commission about the development of the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability suggest that representatives of the Department General for Internal Market (DG GROW) seek to fundamentally tone down the proposals, under the pretence of economic interests and overruling preventive actions on chemicals and public health, writes Natacha Cingotti in EUObserver.
