Chemicals

We have come a long way during the past few decades when chemical pollution was very visible and, in the EU, we now have much better protection in place against many harmful substances.

However, from 1950 to 2000, the global production volume of chemicals increased more than fifty-fold, and every day many new chemicals are being registered worldwide.

Exposure to harmful chemicals, both indoor and outdoor, may cause many health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, allergies and cancer.

A large-scale human biomonitoring study conducted between 2014 and 2021 across five European countries found that at least two pesticides from agriculture were present in the bodies of 84% of survey participants. Pesticide levels were consistently higher in children than in adults.

Data collected from the same EU human biomonitoring study found that up to 100% of the people taking part from 11 EU countries were likely exposed to bisphenol A above safe health thresholds. This raises significant health concerns for the wider EU population. BPA can damage the human immune system at very low doses. This comes in addition to a number of previously discovered harmful effects on human health such as endocrine disruption, reduced fertility and allergic skin reactions. 

Pesticide pollution is one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss in Europe. In particular, pesticide use has caused significant declines in insect populations, threatening the critical roles they play in food production, in particular the pollination of most fruit and vegetable crops.

Our zero pollution monitoring assessment finds that Europe has achieved some progress in some areas:

• Good progress has been made towards reducing air pollution from industry, transport and homes — reducing the number of deaths linked to air pollution. At the same time, Europe has been maintaining and improving its bathing and drinking water quality and reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance. Encouraging trends are also taking place in reducing pesticide use.
• Progress is slower in other areas, such as preventing excess nutrients and persistent chemicals from harming Europe’s freshwater and marine ecosystems, which is proving to be a significant challenge.

The EU is taking action to reduce chemicals and making progress towards its 2050 ambition of reducing pollution to levels no longer harmful. The move toward zero pollution also requires that products are designed and produced in a safer way. Manufacturers can ensure that chemicals are produced in a way that is best for society by creating products with:

• Strong pre-market design phases that focus on product safety and risk reduction;
• Minimum performance requirements for safety and sustainability;
• Supportive environments for the uptake and implementation of safe and sustainable design processes.

The European Commission adopted a recommendation on 'safe and sustainable by design' to promote a framework to assess the safety and sustainability of chemicals and materials. The proposed European framework sets a common baseline for evaluating safety and sustainability – an important step to increase the protection of human health and the environment against hazardous substances.

This approach can protect the health of Europe’s citizens and the environment and drive innovation for safer chemicals. Still, many chemicals are excluded from these rules, and the risks associated with their use remain unknown.

Together with the European Chemicals Agency, we will help monitor progress towards the objectives set by the EU chemicals strategy for sustainability.