"Endocrine disruptors, it is time to think precaution": this is the title of the report by the French Senate, on July 12, on behalf of the Parliament Office of evaluation of the scientific and technologic choices. The rapporteur, Senator Gilbert Barbier, in his conclusion, suggests three axes for the future: knowing, preventing, banning. As a consequence, he advocates a policy to set an international limit to the use of targeted substances, and the designing of a pictogram to warn consumers of their presence in every kind of product, including the cosmetics.
July 14, 2011
The reason behind this report is simple.
Think "precaution"
From the assessment that, on the first hand " chemical substances, be they natural or synthetic, alien to a body, may disrupt the functioning of the endocrine system and induce dangerous drawbacks, either on the short term or on the long term in a person or in her descent" , and, on the other hand, "in Western countries, we see a dramatic increase of diseases due to the environment, while endocrine disruptors may be a cause for hormono-dependent cancers " but that "the understanding of the subtle mechanisms in the body and the evidence of a causal effect needs a long study, not likely to come to conclusions soon ", Gilbert Barbier, the rapporteur, affirms " we cannot wait for securing the public health ."
To make it clear, time has come for action, in the sake of the principle of precaution.
Bisphenol A, phthalates and pesticides are the first targets of this report, in which we see also ethoxylated alkylphenols, polybrominated flame-retardants, perfluorinated substances and, of course, Parabens found in food, medicines and " almost systematically" , as per Gilbert Barbier’s words, in cosmetic products .
