Safer Chemicals Podcast

Join Adam Elwan in the latest episode of the Safer Chemicals Podcast as he welcomes the new Chair of the Risk Assessment Committee, Roberto Scazzola, and Maria Ottati, Chair of the Socio-Economic Analysis Committee.  They talk about the ongoing evaluation of the universal PFAS restriction proposal, France's proposal to restrict creosote-treated wood, the impact of new CLP hazard classes, and more....

After the summer break, the Biocidal Products Committee is back in business discussing the latest active substance and Union authorisation cases.  In this episode, we will introduce Joost van Galen, the new Chair of the committee, who tells about his background and how it has prepared him for this new role. He also shares his thoughts about the main challenges that the committee will be facing in...

Welcome to the Safer Chemicals Podcast, where we delve into the world of chemical risk management. In this episode, we speak with Tim Bowmer and Maria Ottati, Chairs of ECHA's Risk Assessment and Socio-Economic Analysis Committees.  They update us on the universal PFAS restriction proposal, an ambitious initiative to minimise the release of persistent chemicals. Tim Bowmer also reflects on his imp...

Join us in this episode of the Safer Chemicals Podcast as we explore the latest developments from the Enforcement Forum of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).  In conversation with Katja vom Hofe, the outgoing Chair of the Forum, we reflect on the achievements and challenges faced in promoting chemical safety and enforcement. Discover how the Forum's collaborative efforts have shaped the future...

This episode gives you the highlights from the June meeting of our Biocidal Products Committee. Our guest is the Chair of the committee, Erik van de Plassche.  In this episode we cover, for example, topical active substance and Union authorisation cases. We also discuss some procedural topics related to data that is generated after an active substance has been approved as well as minor and major c...

Tim Bowmer and María Ottati, Chairs of our committees for risk assessment and socio-economic analysis join us to share the highlights from their March 2023 meetings. On the agenda: • Restricting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  The universal restriction proposal  prepared by the authorities of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden was discussed for the first time in the c...

This episode gives you the highlights from the March meeting of our Biocidal Products Committee. Our guest is the Chair of the Committee, Erik van de Plassche. The main topic of the episode is the nitrogen generated from ambient air. We cover the main points of discussion and motivation for the committee’s opinion. Background The Committee prepares scientific opinions for the European Commission o...

The Forum on Enforcement’s EU wide project on assessing REACH authorisation duties found that the majority of users of substances of very high concern (SVHC), mainly SMEs, already comply with the authorisation requirement to control risks.  Inspectors from 28 European countries checked compliance with REACH authorisation requirements in the Forum REF-9 project. Authorisation applies to substances...

In this episode we focus on nanomaterials, and more specifically, on how they persist in the environment and how their safety should be considered already when the products are being designed. Nanomaterials have different properties than larger materials. Producing them opens new opportunities in many fields - but they may also have different effects on our health and the environment than larger f...

Our scientific committees have had their last meetings of the year and in this episode we cover the outcomes of the Risk Assessment and Socio-Economic Analysis committees. Tim, the Chair of the Risk Assessment Committee and Maria who chairs the Socio-Economic Analysis Committee join us. We talk about the restriction of lead ammunition for hunting and outdoor sports shooting and lead used in fishin...

This episode gives you the highlights from the November meeting of our Biocidal Products Committee. Our guest is the Chair of the Committee, Erik van de Plassche. The main topic of the episode is the comparative assessment of anticoagulant rodenticides. We cover the main points of discussion and motivation for the committee’s opinion. We also discuss the guidance on analysis of alternatives that w...

Katja Vom Hofe, the Chair of the Enforcement Forum joins us to shed light on the discussions of the Forum in their November meeting. We talk about:  The next REACH enforcement project that will investigate how companies fulfil their registration, authorisation and restriction obligations for products and chemicals they import from outside the EU.  The publication of the Forum's future advice on th...

Highlights from the September 2022 meeting of our Biocidal Products Committee. Our guest is Erik van de Plassche, the Chair of the Committee. We talk about: Active substance approvals Properties that lead to meeting exclusion or substitution criteria , specifically persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic or very persistent and very bioaccumulative substances. Sulphur dioxide generated from sulphur b...

Tim Bowmer and Maria Ottati, Chairs of our committees for risk assessment and socio-economic analysis join us to share the highlights from their September meetings. On the agenda: Restricting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in clay targets for shooting   The restriction prevents further environmental emissions of these toxic and very persistent substances that build up in people and animal...

In 2022, the Chemicals Programme of the OECD – the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – celebrates its 50th anniversary. The aim of the programme has been to improve chemical safety worldwide.  In this episode, we’ll speak with Bob Diderich, Head of the Environment, Health and Safety Division of the OECD. We first have a look back and reflect on some of the successes of the org...

This episode gives you the highlights from the June 2022 meeting of our Biocidal Products Committee. Our guest again is the Chair of the Committee, Erik van de Plassche. The Biocidal Products Committee prepares scientific opinions for the European Commission on biocidal active substances and on EU-wide authorisations of biocidal products.   In June 2022, the Committee adopted a record number of op...

Katja vom Hofe, the Chair of the Enforcement Forum joins us. She is just out of the Forum’s June meeting, and will be sharing the highlights. We talk about the Forum's upcoming and on-going enforcement projects, including preliminary results of an EU-wide project on REACH authorisation (REF-9) where inspectors conducted more than 450 inspections to control REACH authorisation requirements for subs...

Bisphenols are widely used and many are also known endocrine disruptors, which means that they can affect the hormonal systems of people and animals. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is probably the most known chemical in this group. It has been used since the 1960s in many consumer goods like re-usable plastic tableware, plastic bottles, CDs and sports equipment, such as helmets. Due to its harmful propertie...

Tim Bowmer and Maria Ottati, Chairs of our committees for risk assessment and socio-economic analysis join us for this episode to give us the highlights from their June meetings. We talk about two opinions on harmonised classification and labelling adopted by the Risk Assessment Committee: glyphosate, a common herbicide used in agriculture and horticulture to combat weeds and silver, used as an an...

Martin Hojsík, a Slovak activist, environmental expert and Member of the European Parliament joins us for this episode. He is a Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Vice-Chair of the Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport. He is the European Chemicals Agency’s so-called 'liaison MEP', the one following the agency's work in the en...

This episode gives you the highlights from the first 2022 meetings of the Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC). We interviewed the Chairs of the two committees, Tim Bowmer (RAC) and Maria Ottati (SEAC). Both Committees are made up of scientists nominated by EU Member States but appointed by the management Board of ECHA in their personal capacity and both have obs...

This episode covers the highlights from the first Biocidal Products Committee meeting in 2022, with Erik van de Plassche, Chair of ECHA’s Biocidal Products Committee. The Biocidal Products Committee prepares scientific opinions for the European Commission on biocidal active substances and on EU-wide authorisations of biocidal products. The Commission takes the final decisions based on the opinions...

In this episode, we speak with Peter van der Zandt, ECHA’s Risk Management Director about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS in short.  These so-called ‘forever chemicals’ are a family of over 4 000 synthetic chemicals that have been and continue to be widely used by society. The problem though is that their use has resulted in worldwide environmental pollution and human exposure. They ar...

When companies apply to get their biocidal active substances approved or have their biocidal products authorised across the whole EU, individual EU member states check and evaluate the applications.  Then, it is the Biocidal Products Committee that forms an opinion on the evaluation. These opinions are sent to the European Commission which takes the final decision on whether or not to approve the...

This episode covers an EU-wide project where national authorities inspected nearly 6 000 products sold online in the EU and EEA. The project looked at different webshops and online marketplaces and whether they followed the rules set by EU chemicals legislation.  The inspections covered both professional products such as lead used for welding and consumer goods like textiles, leather, toys, and je...