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Opinion: How industry can launder a health-risking substance: Titanium dioxide should remain classified as carcinogenic within the EU

Titanium dioxide (TiO2), often used for its whitening capacity and found in daily products such as sunscreens and cosmetics, is suspected of causing cancer. But the hazard classification of the substance as a suspected carcinogen has been a long and winding road, with the scientific and political battle culminating in a legal row at the European Union’s highest court—to the detriment of citizens and workers - Natacha Cingotti writes for Social Europe.
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Celebrating 20 years of HEAL

Twenty years ago, I realised that environmental pollution is linked to ill health and serious acute and chronic diseases, like cancer, asthma and respiratory diseases. This is when I launched into my environmental health journey and founded HEAL. It became clear to me that our ways of living and the environmental pollution resulting from that impacted our health. I wanted to know more about the impacts and the extent, how much of it was preventable, and what role and power policy-making could have in it....
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Women’s health and the environment – FIGO’s webinar delves into hazards and their impact

The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) organised a webinar ‘Stitching the gap between environmental effects and women's health’ in May 2023. HEAL’s Health and Chemicals Programme Lead Natacha Cingotti discussed the impact of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on health and the joint efforts of HEAL and FIGO in the prevention of these environmental toxins.
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The chemicals restriction roadmap: are we there yet?

The chemicals restriction roadmap is EU's interim plan for regulatory action, compiling a list of the most hazardous chemicals prioritised for phase out until a more comprehensive, health-protective REACH reform is fully realised. But despite optimistic estimates the restriction roadmap has thus far been a painfully slow trek uphill.
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Europe’s raw materials rush does not justify keeping workers in the dark about lithium’s dangers

The increasing reliance on lithium compounds in critical sectors should be reason enough for European authorities to support a thorough investigation of their properties. They also demand a speedy agreement on how to communicate about them to workers and end-users. But instead, a scientifically-backed proposal to classify three lithium salts for their toxicity to reproduction under Europe’s harmonised hazard identification system is at a dead end.
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Video: HEAL’s six demands for a health-first reform of REACH

The European Commission has announced an overhaul of REACH, Europe’s flagship legislation on chemicals. A new video from the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) spells out how the current system allows dangerous chemicals to slip through the cracks, and our six demands to help get REACH back on track to better protect health and the environment.
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Q&A on animal testing and chemical safety assessments

We are exposed to a wide mix of potentially harmful chemicals on a daily basis. To assess whether and how exposure to chemical substances can impact our health and the environment, European and national regulatory authorities rely on the results from several testing methods, including animal testing, when performing their safety assessment. In this Q&A, HEAL answers several key questions about the use of animal testing in the European Union.
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