There is a need for a strategy to enable companies and governments to assess whether chemicals are endocrine disrupting. Currently, in most cases it is impossible to determine, based on the standard information requirements, whether chemicals meet the draft criteria recently published by the EU (European Union) Commission. This became evident from two reports from RIVM.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals can be harmful to offspring and reduce fertility. Therefore, endocrine disruption was included in European legislation. European law prohibits chemicals with endocrine disrupting effects to be approved for use as a plant protection product or biocide. To comply with these laws, the European Commission has proposed criteria for endocrine disrupting chemicals that may also be used in other legal frameworks, e.g. REACH.
Regulatory information requirements
In the future, the criteria need to be applied when chemicals are assessed for endocrine disrupting properties. Currently the data requirements of the relevant European legal frameworks are not sufficient yet to assess whether a substance is endocrine disrupting.
Developing a strategy
RIVM proposes to develop a strategy for evaluating endocrine disrupting properties of chemicals. The aim of this strategy is to make it possible to determine whether chemicals meet the criteria in the future. The strategy consists of:
- Including available methods in legislation
- Development of new scientific research methods
- Develop guidance for implementing European identification criteria