Chemical industry putting profits from forever chemicals over people’s health and the environment
PFAS revelations
Today, new revelations from the research project ‘Forever Lobbying Project’, the chemical industry has been running a large-scale lobbying campaign to hold back EU regulation on PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’. For over a year, 46 journalists from 16 European countries investigated the chemical industry's attempts to block EU legislative initiatives to protect against these toxic PFAS chemicals. According to the research, the cost of eliminating forever chemicals will be over 100 billion euros per year over a period of 20 years.
Bas Eickhout MEP, Greens/EFA President and Member of the Environment Committee, comments:
"The profits of the chemical industry cannot be put before public health and the needs of our environment. The chemical lobby has invested millions in trivialising serious scientific reports and producing studies that are intended to conceal well established facts. That large scale lobbying is holding back EU efforts to regulate forever chemicals is unacceptable.
“Forever chemicals jeopardise public health. Yet, consumers encounter products with PFAS every day, often without being aware of the consequences. We urgently need an EU-wide ban on the use of PFAS as soon as possible and push industry to develop and use alternatives."
“The chemical industry has raked in billions in profits over the years from producing and selling toxic products that will be around for thousands of years. It must be up to the chemical companies to bear the costs of cleaning up their mess. It is unacceptable that taxpayers should be asked to pay for the toxic pollution of our soils and drinking water."
More:
PFAS (or Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of over 10,000 chemicals that are found in numerous everyday products and accumulate in the environment and in the human body. They are extremely persistent and cause serious damage to health. The Forever Lobbying Project reveals how the PFAS industry has intensified its lobbying efforts to prevent a planned EU-wide ban on these chemicals.
Greens/EFA Group petition on PFAS
