Health and Environment Alliance | Toxic Chemicals

Joint letter to the REACH Committee: Restriction of Intentionally-added Microplastics, and Chemical Authorisation Concerns

23rd February 2023

Seventeen NGOs, including HEAL, wrote a joint letter to the REACH Committee ahead of their meeting on March 1st 2023, to urge the Committee to support a restriction that would include all microplastics, and to address other chemical authorisation concerns.

Groundbreaking cross-country media investigation reveals thousands of sites contaminated by PFAS around Europe, adding further urgency to enact EU-wide ban on ‘forever chemicals’

23rd February 2023

An unprecedented cross-country media investigation on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination around Europe - The Forever Pollution Project - reveals that more than 17,000 sites are contaminated by ‘forever chemicals’ around Europe.

REACH reform: HEAL’s key demands for health-protective upgrades of registration and evaluation

21st February 2023

Civil-society Groups Demand For A Highly Protective EU Restriction On PFAS

Civil society groups demand a highly protective EU restriction on PFAS

7th February 2023

The EU Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the draft proposal for an EU-wide restriction on the production and uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), starting a much needed process to restrict these 'forever chemicals'

New HEAL videos explain the ABC for reforming EU rules on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemicals

27th January 2023

The EU CLP regulation defines how the European Union classifies and communicates about hazardous chemicals. Reforming this juggernaut legislation is a big opportunity to better protect health. Watch our new videos to learn why!

Nine hazardous chemicals added to REACH’s blacklist: BPS, melamine, isobutylparaben, PFHpA, and more

24th January 2023

HEAL welcomes the addition of nine new substances to the candidate list of substances of very high concern (SVHC) under the REACH regulation. This poses immediate obligations on manufacturers and importers to declare if these substances are present in materials or products. More...

French government announces national action plan on PFAS chemicals ahead of expected publication of EU-wide proposal for restrictions

17th January 2023

French authorities have today released the country’s first action plan specifically dedicated to PFAS, acknowledging the severe consequences that these ‘forever chemicals’ have on people’s health and the environment and the urgent need to reduce production.

HEAL’s response to ECHA’s call for evidence on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its additives

3rd January 2023

Environmental health groups welcome introduction of European harmonised hazard classes for endocrine disruptors

19th December 2022

The European Commission has today released its proposal for the creation of dedicated hazard classes for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) under the EU legislation for classification, labelling and packaging of…

The curious case of PFHpA and why this and all forever chemicals should be banned under REACH

13th December 2022

PFHpA, a member of the hazardous PFAS family, is increasingly being found in our bodies and the environment. HEAL supports the Dutch proposal to identify PFHpA as a substance of very high concern under REACH, which would constitute the first step to put an end to our exposure to this toxic chemical. However, all PFAS need to be regulated as a group to truly get at the root of the problem to prevent further harm.

Health Care without Harm (HCWH), EurEau and HEAL call on the European Commission to phase out dental amalgam by 2025, and not delay the Mercury Regulation

12th December 2022

HEAL calls on the permanent representations to the EU to prioritise the protection of people’s health and oppose a complementary impact assessment on the SUR proposal

9th December 2022

Webinar: Prenatal exposure to phthalates, bisphenol, and organophosphate pesticide mixtures and fetal growth

16th November 2022

6 December 2022, 16:00 - 16:45 CEST Click here to watch the recording of the webinar Click here to download the presentation slides Pregnant women are ubiquitously exposed to a…

116 Scientists ask for revision of World Health Organization’s draft PFAS guidelines

15th November 2022

More than 115 scientists have asked the World Health Organization for a complete overhaul or withdrawal of the organisation’s draft drinking water guidelines for two of the most well-studied per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), namely PFOS and PFOA.

Open letter to the European Commission: Reuse and prevention at the core of packaging law to achieve circularity, decarbonisation and strategic independence

10th November 2022

29 NGOs call on EU Parliament and Council to support the Commission’s proposal on the SUR, despite attacks to weaken and delay its adoption

10th November 2022

29 NGOs strongly condemn attacks to weaken the ambition of the proposal for a Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products Regulation (SUR) and to delay its adoption.

Why melamine should be added to REACH’s blacklist of harmful chemicals

31st October 2022

Melamine's potential irreversible impacts on health and the environment warrant regulatory action now. Here are 6 things you need to know about this harmful chemical (and why we support Germany's proposal to identify it as a substance of very high concern).

Environmental health groups urge national governments to play their part to ensure reforms of key chemical legislations make speedy progress

25th October 2022

HEAL and 14 environmental health organisations call on European governments to keep pressing the European Commission to deliver the promised reforms of the REACH and CLP regulations, and to support the proposal for a new pesticide reduction law.

Joint statement on the revision of lists of surface and groundwater pollutants

19th October 2022

Letter to European Commission: Civil society vision on how the EU can deliver the European Green Deal and address the multiple crises we face

14th October 2022

The Green 10 wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Vice President Frans Timmermans, Vice President Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, Commissioners Thierry Breton and Virginijus Sinkevičius to express their concern that the Commission’s Letter of Intent listing priority initiatives for 2023 failed to mention a number of the priority legislative files expected for the European Commission to publish in 2023 based on earlier plans by the European Commission.