Major chemical companies have been flouting environmental laws for years; EU watchdog accused of sweeping scandal under the rug

RT
Thu, 23 May 2019 15:31 UTC

© AFP / Ina Fassbender

A factory of German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer is seen in Leverkusen, Germany.

The lack of detail in the scandal over a breach in EU chemical safety laws by major producers is "a big danger" and gives only a glimpse into the real scale of the issue, Jurgen Maier, the head of a German environmental NGO, says.

"I think there is a big possibility that we have chemicals now on the market that have not been sufficiently checked," Maier, who is the director of the German NGO Forum on Environment and Development, said in an interview with RT. "All the information we've got was full of deficits, it's far from complete and this is playing with the lives of people."

Earlier this week an investigation from German environmental group BUND revealed that more than 650 companies "have been disregarding the law for years and getting away with it, selling substances that might cause hormonal cancers, brain disorders and other severe health problems."

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has acknowledged the problem, but as RT's correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij reports, the agency is now accused of trying to sweep the scandal under the rug. The situation prompted Maier to say that the current system of chemical control in the EU is failing.

RT has contacted several of the companies at the center of the scandal including BASF, Dow Chemical and Henkle, but it has yet to receive any responses.

Comment: EU environmental group investigating Bayer, L'Oreal and Dow for use of harmful chemicals

A total of 654 companies are failing to perform the required safety checks mandated by REACH, according to the report. Some of the companies named therein are already bywords for safety scandals - such as Bayer, currently facing more than 11,000 lawsuits after US and European courts found that an ingredient in subsidiary Monsanto's 'Roundup' weedkiller caused multiple cases of cancer. [...]

Some of the chemicals that make their way into everyday goods include dibutyl phthalate, a plasticizer used in flooring, toys, leather, paper and cardboard that is highly toxic to aquatic life and can harm unborn children and decrease fertility. Companies using dibutyl phthalate have not completed the hazard identification required by REACH.

Nor have they completed safety checks on methyl acetate, a chemical that can cause drowsiness, dizziness and serious eye irritation. Methyl acetate is commonly found in adhesives, cleaning products, and cosmetics.