The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has launched an inquiry into the impact of toxic chemicals in everyday life on human health and the environment.

The chemicals include flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and endocrine disruptors. They take many years to break down naturally, travel throughout the environment via air, soil and water, accumulate in living organisms and are toxic to both humans and wildlife.

The inquiry will focus on how toxic chemicals are used in everyday products, such as furniture, food and toys, current government regulation of these substances, and the environmental and human health problems associated with them.

Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Mary Creagh MP, said:

“The use and control of toxic chemicals in everyday products is a pressing environmental issue with serious implications for human health.

“The Government has committed to reducing harmful chemical levels in soil and rivers in its 25 Year Environment Plan. This inquiry aims to find out whether ministers are doing enough to protect the environment and ensure the risk to human health from toxic chemicals is minimised. I encourage anyone with insight to engage with our inquiry.”

The Committee has previously considered the future of chemicals regulation after the UK leaves the EU in 2016-17 and again in a one-off evidence session in December 2018.

Eurostat, the European Union (EU) statistical office, estimates that the EU produced 81 million tonnes of chemicals hazardous to the environment and 219 million tonnes of chemicals hazardous to human health in 2017.

Hazardous chemicals have been found in UK soil and rivers and the Government has committed to reducing harmful chemical levels in its 25 Year Environment Plan.

UK chemicals policy is currently regulated at EU level by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the REACH regulation. REACH has established a list of “substances of very high concern” (SVHC) and Article 33 gives consumers the right to know if products contain any of these substances.

The Health and Safety Executive, with the Environment Agency on environmental aspects, monitors the use of hazardous chemicals at UK level. The Office for Product Safety and Standards is the oversight body for identifying consumer risk.

The UK is also a signatory to the Stockholm Convention, which aims to eliminate, restrict or reduce the production of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Rotterdam Convention, which aims to protect the environment and human health by monitoring the movement of potentially hazardous chemicals in trade.

The Committee is inviting written evidence on a range of questions, including:

• Why are toxic chemicals used in consumer products? What benefit do they offer? How are levels of toxicity measured?
• What new technologies and materials are being developed to reduce the use of toxic chemicals? Are they widely available and affordable for producers?
• Which toxic chemicals pose a significant risk to human health? How pervasive is the risk? Who is most at risk? How do producers make consumers aware of health risks identified in their products
• How does the Government measure the health risks of toxic chemicals? What actions does the Government take to limit consumers’ exposure to toxic chemicals? Should maximum residue limits (MRLs) be applied to toxic chemicals in consumer products? Are current trading standards sufficient to monitor toxic chemicals in consumer products and food?
• What is the environmental risk from toxic chemicals? As part of its commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan, what measures is the Government taking to reduce harmful chemicals in the environment? Will these measures be effective?
• Is current legislation on producer responsibility and management of waste sufficient for recyclers to identify toxic chemicals in products? Should materials treated with flame retardants be available for use as recycled material in consumer products?
• Does the Government’s plan to target £9bn in savings through regulation by 2022 pose risks for chemical regulation?
• What risks or opportunities does Britain exiting the EU pose to regulation and import of these chemical substances or products containing these substances? What is the likely status of the UK’s continued participation in the RAPEX system in the event of Britain leaving the EU?
• How should substances of very high concern (SVHC) be regulated after the UK leaves the EU? How should the Government manage risk from newly identified toxic chemicals after the UK has left the EU?

Deadline to submit comments is 8 March 2019 - click here to access the submissions page