EU to assess biocides for endocrine-disrupting properties
About 100 biocidal active substances will be assessed, with the first results expected by the end of the year
A range of biocides will face additional screening for potentially causing adverse effects when interacting with animals and people’s hormone systems, according to a European Commission conference held in June in Brussels, Belgium.
The research would form part of cost-benefit analysis that the EU executive has launched to define what criteria it should introduce in the European Union (EU) biocides (and pesticides) regulations to determine what chemicals are considered to be endocrine disruptors.
'The selection will likely be based on those substances that have enough data to allow the conclusions regarding endocrine disruption to be made,' said Sharon Munn, Scientific and Technical Project Manager at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) at the conference.
About 100 biocidal active substances will be assessed, with the first results expected by the end of the year.
The JRC has developed a methodology for the screening that will look at existing data from regulatory assessment reports, as well as from other sources, such as the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), civil society organisation ChemSec’s Substitute It Now (SIN) List, the JRC’s Endocrine Active Substances Information System (EASIS) and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ToxCast.
An external organisation contracted by the Commission will use the methodology to extract information on the screened chemicals regarding their potential adverse effect on hormonal systems.
The JRC has developed a methodology for the screening that will look at existing data from regulatory assessment reports
A conclusion on whether a chemical is an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) or not may not be reached in all cases, Munn said, as there may not be enough data on the chemicals’ mode of action.
This screening is expected to help the European Commission decide what substances may be labelled as EDCs under the biocides and pesticides regulations, under each of the four options it is assessing for introducing the EDC criteria. A second series of studies will measure the cost-benefit economic impact of the different options.
The first is to maintain the status quo, making permanent interim criteria defining EDCs, establishing them through the EU biocidal products regulation. These say all biocidal active substances meeting conditions to be classified as carcinogen category two and toxic for reproduction category two under the EU’s classification, labelling and packaging regulation (CLP), are considered as having endocrine-disrupting properties.
The second option for introducing EDC criteria being considered by the European Commission is using a definition by the World Health Organisation (WHO) linking chemicals with adverse effects in humans or animals, induced by a reaction with their hormone system.
A third potential regulatory option is defining EDCs based on the WHO definition and introducing additional categories, such as proven EDCs, suspected EDCs or endocrine-active substances.
Finally, a fourth option, favoured by the biocides industry, would see the WHO definition as the basis for the EDC criteria, coupled with the potency of a substance to cause an adverse effect to the hormone system.
The European Commission is expected to propose changes to the biocides regulation by early 2017. Other reforms could come later.
