A statement from the EEB, a European network of over 170 environmental organizations, explains that diaper contamination was identified several years ago by the French National Agency for Health, Food, Environment and Safety at Work (ANSES), a public organization. institution under the tutelage of the Ministries of Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor and Consumption.
The ANSES warning was issued in 2018, but European institutions failed to create legislation to protect consumers, which happened again on Wednesday, EEB explains.
The European Commission has had three months to submit a legal proposal for restrictions in the European Union (EU) of chemicals in diapers, following a request from France on April 20 to that effect. So far, he has never met a deadline for other requests from France, and he missed that deadline again on Wednesday, the environmental organization notes.
French authorities say 90% of European babies have been exposed to a “very serious” chemical contamination through diapers sold across Europe in recent years, putting children at risk of “potentially very serious illnesses” later in life.
A French agency tested in 2018 and 2019 the top-selling brands of disposable diapers, including so-called “eco-friendly” ones, and found 38 “very serious risk” chemicals, formaldehyde, classified as a carcinogen and already banned in toys. , and 37 other foods also have health effects on, among other things, carcinogenic, hepatic, immunological, or neurological levels.
ANSES estimates that more than 14 million children in Europe may suffer from “potentially very serious illnesses” due to the use of diapers.
In 2020, a French agency retested nine diaper brands and found only one of the chemicals present, formaldehyde. But acknowledging that the contamination could recur, he asked the EU to severely limit the use of the chemicals.
“European institutions resisted this proposal. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) acknowledged the potential risks, said the chemicals should not be present, but said the French failed to properly demonstrate the risk to children.
The EEB believes that the European Commission failed and that on Wednesday it again failed to meet the legal deadline to respond to the French proposal, and this situation could last for months or years.
According to the EEB, 21 non-governmental organizations have written to the Commission stating that the effects on children’s health could be irreversible and that the EU should ban chemicals in diapers as a preventive measure.
Dolores Romano, BSE’s head of chemistry, quoted in a statement, said: “Day after day, week after week, incredibly sensitive newborns and infants can be exposed to some of the most toxic substances on the planet. law”.
French pressure forced manufacturers to change the composition of diapers, showing that it was entirely possible, but “as soon as the inspectors leave, the problem may return. Therefore, a law is needed,” he added.
And in the same paper, Anja Hazekamp, Vice President of the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, said: “It is very alarming that millions of newborns and children in Europe are already being exposed to hazardous chemicals. while they are in diapers. More worryingly, despite evidence of this, the official EU Chemicals Agency chooses to protect the economic interests of the industry rather than maintain safety restrictions that would protect the health of these young children.”
The French agency reports that 1,000 diapers per minute are produced in Europe and that the market is valued at seven billion euros per year, dominated by two brands: Pampers (36%) and Huggies (26%). And that over 90% of parents in Europe have been using them since the 1990s.
EEB notes that, in addition to diapers, daily exposure to synthetic chemicals in everyday products contributes to increased rates of cancer, reproductive problems, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, among other exposures.
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