The Homemakers’ Union and Foundation (HUCC) yesterday called on the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to impose stricter regulations on plasticizer chemicals.
The call came as the EPA is in the process of turning common plasticizers, including di(2--ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, from a category-four toxic chemical substance under the Toxic Chemical Substances Control Act (毒性化學物質管理法) to categories one and two to ensure tighter controls.
A public hearing on chemical substances controls was held last week, where many manufactures of plastic and perfume products expressed concerns that the revised regulations were too strict and would eventually put them out of business.
HUCC executive secretary Hsu Shin-shin (許心欣), who participated in the public hearing, said they urged the EPA to take a firmer stance in controlling the potentially toxic substances to protect the public and that it should not succumb to the opposition from manufacturers.
The foundation said a timetable for listing DEHP as a highly regulated substance should be shortened to reduce risks to public health, adding that regulations prohibiting the use of polyvinylchloride, or PVC, as food plastic wrap, currently scheduled to come into force in 2013, should be implemented earlier.
“If they know it’s bad for our health, why do they have to wait two more years?” Hsu asked.
People can choose to use polyethylene (PE) plastic wrap or glass containers that are safer to store food in, she said.
Moreover, the organization called for a total ban on dimethylformamide (DMF) as a material for sandals and kickboards for swimming, as peoples’ skin comes into direct contact with them.
A revision to regulations already bans DMF as a material in toys and floor mats.
In addition, the HUCC said endosulfan, a toxic pesticide, should be banned from agricultural use in accordance with a global ban on the manufacture and use of endosulfan negotiated under the Stockholm Convention in April, which will come into force in the middle of next year.
“There are already too many endocrine-disrupting chemicals threatening our health in our daily environment, but not everybody is aware of this,” Hsu said. “We hope the government will use this opportunity [the current scare over plasticizer chemicals] to modify the regulations — and not only in food products.”
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