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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTon the implementation of the Community Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters - a range of substances suspected of interfering with the hormone systems of humans and wildlifeCOM (2001)262Following the adoption by the Commission of a Communication to Council and European Parliament on a Community Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters in December 1999 (COM(1999)706), the Council invited the Commission to report regularly on the progress of work, and for the first time in early 2001. A key short-term action of the Community Strategy is the establishment of a priority list of substances for further evaluation of their role in endocrine disruption. During 2000, a candidate list of 553 man-made substances and 9 synthetic/natural hormones has been identified. The candidate list has been divided into three separate groupings of substances depending on the level of information available, and a priority list of actions has been developed in order to further evaluate the role of these substances in endocrine disruption. Actions, timeframes and groupings of substances are presented in Annex 1 of this Communication. Regarding other short-term actions, the Commission held a European workshop on endocrine disrupters, with the sponsorship of the Swedish Ministry for Environment, Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate (KEMI), OECD, WHO and the European Environment Agency. The workshop took place on 18-20 June 2001 in Sweden and focused on monitoring, research and development, test methods/testing strategy and international cooperation. The Commission has also held meetings with WHO and the US EPA during 2000 with a view to enhancing international cooperation. The Commission and Member States continue to participate in the OECD Endocrine Disrupter Testing and Assessment Task Force, which was set up in 1998 with the goal of developing agreed test methods for endocrine disrupters. The latest estimates are that agreed test methods for human health would be available in 2002 while tests for environmental effects are expected in the timeframe of 2003 to 2005. Under the 5th Community Framework Programme for R&D (1999-2002), research into endocrine disruption has been prioritised in the latest revisions of the relevant workprogrammes. In addition, a dedicated call for research proposals on the health and environmental implications of endocrine disrupters was published in May 2001 with a budgetary envelope of 20 MEURO. Finally, regarding legislative action, the proposed revision of the General Product Safety Directive proposes, inter-alia, a simplification of conditions and procedures for urgent measures at Community level. In addition, the issue of endocrine disrupters is addressed specifically in the context of new and existing legislation in the field of water policy and in the recent White Paper on a strategy for a future chemicals policy. Full text of the communication (pdf ~240K)
Follow the progress of this communication on the Prelex database. Towards the establishment of a priority list of substances for further evaluation of their role in endocrine disruption -- preparation of a candidate list of substances as a basis for priority-setting "BKH Report" (pdf format)
European Workshop on Endocrine Disruptors
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