A new report, published today by the UK Parliament’s Environment Audit Committee (EAC), accuses the Government of stalling on action to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals. The EAC report summarises findings from expert witnesses, including written evidence from Fidra, as part of the inquiry into Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life. Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, MP Mary Creagh explains ‘most people assume that they aren’t at risk from toxic chemicals, but the reality is different’.
Risks to people and wildlife
The UN estimates that 27 percent of total global ecosystem loss was due to chemical pollution. With an estimated 9 million premature deaths worldwide attributable to pollution in 2015 according to the Lancet Commission. The EAC report found foetuses, children and pregnant women as being most at risk from the adverse effects of toxic chemicals. It also cites Fidra’s evidence that workers can be exposed to particular chemical groups of concern, with firefighters at greater risk from some carcinogenic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and flame retardants, and cashiers at risk from hormone disrupting bisphenols used in till receipts.
Flame retardants under scrutiny
The inquiry highlighted the UK’s heavy reliance on chemical flame retardants in furniture, with the UK and US having the highest concentrations of banned flame retardants in breast milk. A key barrier to change and innovation within the UK furniture market is the outdated testing methods required to meet current national fire safety standards for furniture and furnishings. The heavily criticised ‘match test’, which forms a key component of the legislation, requires furnishing fabrics to be tested over a form of combustible foam that is no longer used in domestic furniture. As Fidra wrote in their inquiry evidence, ‘the current tests are not fit for purpose and do not reflect the materials used in modern furniture, nor account for real-life construction of furniture’. The inquiry heard evidence that to meet the current tests, significant quantities of chemical flame retardants are being applied to furniture, ignoring both the health and environmental concerns around having these chemicals in our homes, and the toxic fumes they produce during fires.
A review of the legislation began in 2009 yet regulations are still to be updated. In 2014 changes that had the potential to reduce flame retardants by up to 50% were delayed and a further consultation held in 2016, the results of which are yet to be made public.
Chair of the Environmental Audit committee, MP Mary Creagh explains
“Chemical flame retardants are still being widely used in our furnishings from children’s mattresses to sofas. Meanwhile the Government is sitting on its hands instead of changing regulations to ensure that the most toxic chemicals are taken out of use’’
The EAC has called for BEIS to publish to responses to the latest 2016 review by the 24 July or be viewed as “deliberately delaying” the process.
The full report can be viewed here (pdf)