- Toxic chemicals in baby toys, nappies, clothes, shoes,
food and plastics are endangering human health and damaging the environment,
say Europe's top scientific advisers.
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- They are worried that a new class of chemicals known
as organotins are becoming so commonplace in consumer products that they
could be threatening the immune systems of children and disrupting the
hormones of wildlife.
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- One product, an impregnated baking paper, has already
been withdrawn by manufacturers, and others are likely to follow. "We
do not want to cause panic but it is an area where there is concern,"
said James Bridges, the chairman of the European Commission (EC) scientific
committee on toxicity, ecotoxicity and the environment.
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- The committee, which comprises 17 leading experts from
11 countries, has issued a report casting serious doubts on the safety
of organotins. It concludes: "Total exposure to organotin compounds
for humans, especially for children, in view of the sensitivity of the
developing immune system, is cause of concern."
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- Organotins are used as stabilisers or catalysts in PVC,
silicones, polyesters and polyurethanes, as well as in pesticides, glues
and wood preservatives. They include at least seven major groups of compounds,
all of which incorporate tin ñ like tributyltins and dimethyltins.
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- The chemicals are known to attack the white blood cells,
on which the human immune system depends. When released into water, they
have also been shown to alter the sex of snails.
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- They have recently been detected in a wide range of products,
including the padding in cycling shorts, a children's paddling pool and
a bath ball. They may also be present in mattresses, insoles and several
types of plastic toy, including dolls.
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- According to Bridges, professor of toxicology and environmental
health at the University of Surrey, the discovery of organotins in cycling
shorts is particularly worrying. The toxins are very close to the skin
and could be absorbed into the body, where they could start depleting white
blood cells.
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- He is also anxious about the exposure to children from
plastic toys. "There are concerns that a number of toys may be put
in the mouth and may be chewed for a considerable time by the child,"
he said.
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- He pointed that there were huge uncertainties over how
toxic the chemicals were, and the levels to which people were exposed.
There was a need to assess the additive effect of increasing exposure from
a variety of different sources, as well as the cumulative impact of long-term
exposure.
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- It was vital to find out more about the risks as soon
as possible, Bridges stressed. "We are suggesting to the commission
that they need to respond rather promptly."
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- Alarms bells about organotins were first rung when they
were suspected of migrating from silicone-impregnated baking paper to cookies.
But the baking paper has been withdrawn, and both Bridges and the industry
expect other products to follow.
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- European ministers are currently considering a new set
of rules proposed by the EC for limiting human exposure to thousands of
manufactured chemicals. But the proposals are being fiercely opposed by
the chemical industry, which claims they could cause factory closures and
widespread unemployment.
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- Environmental groups, however, want the EC to take a
tougher approach, and ban chemicals like organotins where there is evidence
of harm. "Our current campaign to strengthen proposed European rules
aims to get these chemicals out of the environment and out of our homes
for good," said Dr Richard Dixon, head of policy with WWF Scotland.
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- "People will be surprised that yet more everyday
products contain chemicals now thought to be dangerous. This is particularly
alarming given that these organotins are in products for young children."
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- Dixon accused chemical companies of using "biased
and incomplete" reports in their determination to keep on using dangerous
substances. "We have allowed the chemical industry to conduct a global
experiment on us and the environment for more than a century," he
declared.
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- "Any new system must reverse the burden of proof
so chemicals can only be used after comprehensive testing. This would be
much better than the ludicrous system we currently have where we continue
to allow a compound to be used until we are 100% sure that it is bad for
us."
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- The government's green watchdog, the Scottish Environment
Protection Agency (SEPA), is particularly worried about the impact of organotins
on rivers, lochs and the sea. One of the most well-known of the compounds,
tributyltin, has been used for painting boats to keep off barnacles, though
it is now being phased out.
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- "SEPA has long been, and still is, concerned about
the levels of organotins, especially tributyltin, which is recognised as
one of the most damaging and widespread pollutants in the marine environment,"
said the manager of SEPA's ecotoxicology unit, Dr John Redshaw.
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- "SEPA regulates all significant discharges to the
sea and the removal of tributyltin from ships in dockyards, to ensure as
little as possible enters the water. We also conduct extensive surveys
of the biological and chemical quality of fresh and saline waters throughout
Scotland."
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- The organotin industry, however, insisted that there
was no need for consumers to be worried. The analysis of the EC scientists
was "questionable", it said, because they had highlighted "a
theoretical situation which is not reflected by products on the market".
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- There are eight producers of organotins in Europe, which
are represented by the European Tin Stabilisers Association in Brussels.
They include Atofina and Rohm & Hass in France, as well as Baerlocher
and Crompton in Germany.
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- According to the association's spokeswoman, Dr Brigitte
Dero, there was "not much" organotin in toys. "We believe
there is no problem with children's toys," she told the Sunday Herald.
"On the issue of baking papers, there is a not a problem, because
silicone producers removed organotins from baking papers last year. This
was not because there was a risk, but because it was easier to use other
products."
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- She said that the industry would be publishing a report
on the use of organotins next month "which should answer the questions
once and for all". The industry was confident it would fill the information
gaps and confirm that the chemicals were safe for human health and the
environment.
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- But this is unlikely to satisfy environmentalists, who
are planning to step up pressure on the EC to tighten controls on hazardous
chemicals. "Organotins are yet another example of toxic chemicals
that the public are exposed to on an everyday basis," argued Dr Dan
Barlow, head of research for Friends of the Earth Scotland.
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- "The forthcoming European chemical legislation must
ensure that human health is no longer compromised by the use of dangerous
chemicals. Attempts by business groups to resist strong legislation must
be resisted."
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- For the EC's senior expert, James Bridges, though, there
is one potential sting in the tail. If more organotins are withdrawn, what
will companies put in their place? "My worry is that they will replace
them with something worse, about which we know even less," he said.
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- ©2003 Newsquest (Sunday Herald) Limited. all rights
reserved
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- http://www.sundayherald.com/print36865
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