28/10/2005
- Brussels, Belgium – More than 160,000 people in the EU
and other countries have signed several different petitions
launched by WWF urging European politicians to bring hazardous
man-made chemicals under control.
The petitions have been collected on-line as well as off-line
in the different EU countries. They represent a united call
in favour of a toxic-free future that European politicians
deciding on the proposed new chemicals legislation, REACH,
can no longer ignore.
"This shows the high level of public concern about
hazardous chemicals in products we all use every day,"
said WWF’s DetoX Campaign Director, Karl Wagner.
"Citizens have spoken out, they
are fed up with being exposed to toxic chemicals, and
European politicians must respond to these concerns and
ensure that hazardous chemicals are not used in consumer
products any more."
Today in Rome, the European Parliament’s lead rapporteur
on REACH, Guido Sacconi, will receive the thousands of
signatures collected by WWF in the past months, together
with the 18,000 responses to the on-line chemical contamination
test organized this week by WWF in Italy.
Between today and next Friday, piles of national petitions
will be handed by WWF and members of families tested for
the Generations X study.
The widespread contamination of people
and wildlife with man-made chemicals is well documented
and has been continuously proved by WWF’s biomonitoring
studies. In the most recent survey, a total of 73 man-made
hazardous chemicals were found in the blood of 3 generations
(grandmothers, mothers and children) of 13 families from
12 European countries.
Many of the chemicals tested for are
present in everyday consumer goods such as textiles, cosmetics,
computers and electronic appliances. Results showed that
every family member was contaminated by a cocktail of
at least 18 different man-made chemicals.
WWF and concerned citizens in the EU and world-wide call
on the European Parliament voting on REACH in less than
three weeks time to protect the health of its citizens,
wildlife and environment, by adopting a strong new EU
chemicals law that will:
• deliver safer chemicals in daily
use for citizens, consumers, workers and the environment;
• identify harmful chemicals with effective and systematic
procedures; and
• replace hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives.
NOTES:
• The Generations X study is the latest
chemical check-up organized by WWF. The results of the
tests, carried out on three generations from 13 families
across Europe, proved that chemical contamination does
not respect any geographic or age boundaries.
• REACH (Registration, Evaluation
and Authorisation of Chemicals) is a draft EU law that
should lead to the identification and phasing out of the
most harmful chemicals. If it becomes law it will be enforced
in all countries in the European Union. |
