18/01/2005 – Twenty-five
women and their families from the UK Women’s
Institute were in Brussels this week with
WWF to lobby Members of the European Parliament
(MEPs) on the importance of controlling the
use of dangerous chemicals.
"We’ve come from all parts of England
and Wales to make sure MEPs understand how
important it is for REACH to be passed,"
said Tracy Sortwell, of the Women's Institute's
Public Affairs Committee.
"This shows how seriously we feel about
the issue. We hope that MEPs will be listening
to the genuine concerns of their constituents."
REACH (Register, Evaluate and Authorize Chemicals)
is the proposed new EU chemical law that is
expected to lead to the identification and
phasing out of the most harmful chemicals.
The Women's Institute (WI) — with over 215,000
members and 7,000 groups — has organized a
vigorous campaign with WWF for REACH, including
collecting many of the 77,000 signatures on
a petition presented to the European Parliament
last year.
The control of hazardous chemicals is an issue
that has captured WI members’ interests. Many
have spoken of their concern as mothers and
grandmothers about the chemicals that their
children have in their blood and how, as nursing
mothers, they could have passed these on in
breastfeeding.
WI members lobbied their MEPs and addressed
the Petitions Committee, which was one of
the high points of their visit. Ruth Bond
spoke passionately to the Committee of MEPs:
"I am here to represent the very real
concerns of ordinary people. I speak as a
citizen of Europe, a consumer, and above all
as a mother. I hope this demonstrates the
vast amount of concern – especially from women."
The WI lobby coincides with the beginning
of the legislative process. This week all
European Parliamentary Committees involved
in REACH are meeting. The women are anxious
that the strong lobbying by chemical companies
doesn’t cause MEPs to overlook the dangers
of many chemicals in everyday use.
The WI is also asking for "the right
to know" what chemicals each product
contains. As part of their lobbying efforts,
they brought cutting boards, cleaning materials,
carpets, and cosmetics to demonstrate that
everything they used is heavy with chemicals.
"We want chemicals labelled with a label
we can understand, so we know what’s in things
and then its up to us whether we buy it or
not," explained Ruth Bond.
The WI is also asking that the precautionary
principle be used.
"Society needs to take precautions about
what chemicals are used," she explained.
WI's interest in the campaign started after
WWF organized a series of blood tests, which
demonstrated to members how polluted they
were.
"I found I had 22 chemicals, including
DDT and the pesticide lindane," Ruth
Bond said about her own experience. "They
shouldn’t be there at all. I want to pass
good things onto my children, not chemicals."
Others at the lobby, including the Poll family
from Suffolk, England, explained that they
were in Brussels to meet MEPs because their
blood tests had shown that their daughter’s
level of flame retardants was as high as her
mother’s.
"We are meeting MEPs to tell them what
we found and to persuade them to support the
initiative to phase out hazardous chemicals,"
the family said.
The WI has vigorously campaigned in England
and Wales, holding public days explaining
about chemicals and health and organizing
‘toxic tours’ of their houses to find out
which products contain chemicals. They have
also produced their own guide, Simple Solutions,
with tips on reducing exposure to chemicals
in the home.
"The response from Members has surpassed
anything the WI has been campaigning about
for years," said Barbara Gill, WI’s National
Chair. "Most of us feel passionately
that our children and grandchildren shouldn’t
be polluted. We hope that as parents, MEPs
feel the same."
NOTES:
WWF's international DetoX campaign is calling
for REACH, the proposed chemicals legislation
in the EU, to phase out chemicals that are
persistent and bioaccumulative, or those that
can disrupt the endocrine system and only
allow their continued use where there is an
overwhelming societal need, where no safer
alternatives exist, and where measures to
minimize exposure are put in place.
