Women 'reaching' for a healthy environment

4.21.55pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 21st Jan 2005

Sarah Ludford with Barbara Gill, President of the National Federation of Womens' Institutes, and other WI members

London's Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford enthusiastically welcomed Women's Institute members who came to the European Parliament in Brussels this week to lobby MEPs to support the phasing out of highly toxic chemicals.

Sarah Ludford, who addressed the European Parliament Petitions Committee in support of a petition presented on behalf of the National Federation of Women's Institutes and the World Wildlife Federation, said:

"The WI yet again show that they are formidable campaigners. Their theme could not be more timely or more vital, since the imminent new EU legislation overhauling the control and classification of dangerous chemicals could be the most important thing the EU ever does to improve our lives."

"As the WI says, we use tens of thousands of chemicals in our every day lives about which we have little or no publicly available information. Yet toxic chemicals in household products have been linked to increases in conditions like diabetes and asthma."

The petition, bearing 77,000 signatures, calls for the European Parliament to place hormone-disrupting, persistent and bioaccumlative chemicals on the 'very high concern' list in forthcoming EU chemicals legislation and to legislate that these hazardous chemicals be replaced by safer alternatives.

Sarah Ludford added:

"The chemicals industry may claim that this new regulation will be a burden, but toxic chemicals cost more in the long term through damage to our health."

Note

The European Parliament is just beginning to examine the proposed "REACH" (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) Directive. The objective of the legislation is to identify potentially harmful chemicals and classify them accordingly, with the possibility of replacing them with safer alternatives.