Missing links in the regulatory chain controlling life cycle emissions of hazardous chemicals from articles

• It is widely acknowledged that the management of risks associated with chemicals in articles, including consumer products, needs to be improved. The purpose of the present study is to empirically analyze to what extent European legislations that control emissions of hazardous chemicals from articles during different life cycle phases are coherent or not. To illustrate this, the regulation of a number of case-study chemicals, used in various consumer products and in high volumes, is scrutinized. This analysis identifies missing regulatory links between the rules that are relevant for the use phase and the rules applicable to the waste phase. With the exception of the RoHS directive, a clear connection to the rules for waste is missing in the regulatory system. Clear links are also missing between the rules regulating chemical emissions during the articles’ life cycle and maximum environmental concentration limits set for sludge, soil and surface water. The Waste Directive, the WEEE Directive, and the Water Framework Directive refer to EU environmental and waste policies. These policies state that environmental damage should be rectified at source. The lack of connection between the rules regulating different phases of an article's life cycle makes these objectives difficult to fulfill. These legislative gaps will encourage end-of-pipe solutions, rather than actions to manage the source of the problem. We argue that it is necessary to minimize the input of hazardous chemicals into articles, so that waste and other end-products can be recovered and used without harming human health or the environment.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Farmakologi och toxikologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Pharmacology and Toxicology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Toxicology

Toxikologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)