Protecting health from hazardous chemicals: European countries agree on regional priorities

Advancing regional action on chemical safety in a new policy landscape was the focus of a WHO-led meeting in June attended by representatives from 28 countries. Chemical safety is an issue of public health concern. In the WHO European Region, exposure to selected chemicals caused 269 500 deaths in 2019. This figure is an underestimate, as data availability is limited to a few chemicals or groups of chemicals.

With an ever-growing number and volume of chemicals and chemical products on the market, human exposure to chemicals is expected to increase and become more complex.

Priorities identified at the meeting in Bonn, Germany, will support the definition of national chemical safety agendas and the more effective use of technical, human and other resources. Countries agreed to focus on the following chemicals and groups of chemicals of public health concern:

• chemicals with the most serious adverse health effects - those that are carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to the reproductive system; endocrine disruptors; sensitizers; and those that are toxic to the immune system; and
• chemicals persisting in the environment with similar structure and use - per- and polyfluorinated substances, heavy metals, hazardous chemicals in plastics, and micro- and nanoplastics.

Countries also determined that chemicals already regulated by multilateral international agreements, such as mercury and persistent organic pollutants, should continue receiving attention.

Participants agreed on priority actions that can facilitate progress in several areas, such as capacity-building; exposure and risk assessment, including through the use of human biomonitoring; awareness raising; information collection and exchange; and strengthening enforcement and implementation of regulations.

They also identified actions to strengthen coordination and collaboration, including through the partnerships established within the European Environment and Health Process (EHP).

Linked to the meeting, a WHO training session looked at how to plan health protection strategies throughout the life cycle of chemicals. A holistic approach was demonstrated using the example of mercury and its phase-out as requested by the Minamata Convention.

A new policy landscape

New global and regional chemical safety policies have been adopted to address challenges in sound chemicals management. In 2023 these included:

• the Global Framework on Chemicals, a new voluntary global framework for international management of chemicals that succeeds the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM);
• World Health Assembly resolution WHA76.17 on the health impacts of chemicals, wastes and pollution; and
• the Budapest Declaration on Environment and Health.

WHO supports countries' efforts to advance chemical safety by promoting intersectoral collaboration, including beyond the health and environment sectors; advocating for stronger political commitments; providing training, technical assistance and expertise; and developing guidance and tools.

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