Children and future generations must be protected from toxic chemicals that pollute the human body, a conference on the issue heard on Saturday (28 June). Uncontrolled use of chemicals that persist in the environment, disrupt hormones and contribute to rising rates of cancer, allergies and reproductive damage must be halted.

The conference, Working Towards a Toxic Free Future, brought together 100 participants from more than 40 groups in 20 countries, at Soesterberg, in the Netherlands, last weekend (27-28 June).

The European Commission is consulting now on plans for much tighter regulation of chemicals. People and civil society groups were urged to respond now to the internet consultation on draft legislation, which ends on July 10, to counter intense lobbying from the chemicals industry and the United States against it.

Speaker after speaker detailed the scale of human pollution from man-made chemicals and the health effects evident in wildlife and, increasingly, in people.

Marie Kranendonk, President of the conference organisers, Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), said: “Children have the right to be born chemical free. We cannot accept that they are the guinea pigs of the chemical industry. Europeans have a choice now: economic interests versus the protection of the health of people, particularly the most vulnerable group – the new generation.”

Up to 20,000 children born in the Netherlands each year show the effects of the ‘body burden’ of chemicals their mothers were exposed to: breathing difficulties, blood and immune disorders, learning difficulties and congenital defects.

There are an estimated 100,000 synthetic chemicals in the environment, about 30,000 in every day items and up to 700 contaminants have been detected in humans. Current regulation is totally inadequate to deal with the pattern of multiple daily exposure to toxic chemicals from products all around us: furniture, electronic goods, cosmetics and even food.

ENDS

Media Contacts:
WECF: Sylvia Altamira, Marie Kranendonk or Isolde van Overbeek, WECF, +31 (0)30 2310300
Women’s Environmental Network (WEN): Liz Sutton, Press Co-ordinator, ++ 44 (0)20 7481 9004/ ++ 44 (0)7973 323789 (mobile) or Helen Lynn, Health Co-ordinator ++ 44 (0)7957 408 303
European Environmental Bureau (EEB): Anja Leetz, Outreach Campaigner, +32 (0)2 289 1303 (direct)/ +32 (0)2 289 1090/ +32 (0)474 28 77 98 (mobile)

Notes to Editors
1. More about the draft legislation can be found at at europa.eu.int/comm./enterprise/chemicals/index.htm and a site set up by green groups via the EEB to channel responses: www.chemicalreaction.org

2. Working Towards a Toxic Free Future is supported by Women’s Environmental Network (UK), Science Shop for Biology, University of Groningen (NL), Friends of the Earth (NL), Netherlands Council of Women – NVR, Eco-Baby (NL), Monitoring Network for Health and Environment (NL), International Chemical Secretariat (Sweden), Armenian Women for Health and a Healthy Environment.

3. Speakers included leading toxicologist Dr Vyvyan Howard, from the University of Liverpool, Dr Lilian Corra, vice President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, Patricia Cameron of Friends of the Earth, Germany, Helen Lynn, Health Co-ordinator at WEN and Michael Warhurst, EU Chemicals Policy Officer for WWF.