Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to introduce hazard-based protection measures for reducing exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals; and if he will amend the classification, labelling and packaging regulations to introduce new hazard classes on endocrine disruptors and suspected endocrine disruptors.

The issue of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which have been linked to numerous human health and wildlife impacts, is scientifically complex. There is uncertainty surrounding the effects of EDC exposure from both an environmental and human health perspective, and we are contributing to international efforts to address the evidence gaps. We are considering the evidence available and drawing on a range of expertise with the aim of improving testing and identification of EDCs and assessing measures to further understand and manage the risks they pose.

The identification of intrinsic chemical hazards is a principal requirement of the classification, labelling and packaging regulation (CLP). The hazard classes in CLP cover physical, human health and environmental hazards. Endocrine disrupting properties are not captured by a specific CLP hazard class because they are a result of a mode of action rather than an intrinsic hazardous property. However, chemicals with human health endocrine disrupting properties are effectively covered in CLP by the closely related CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction) hazard classes.

The hazard classification of a chemical is often used as a starting point for specific controls or protective measures and is the basis for many regulatory and legislative provisions in the risk management of chemicals. Endocrine disrupting properties are specifically taken into account by the regulatory regimes covering the use of pesticides and biocides, where identification of such properties prompts specific control measures.