of the Parliament; in fact, 127 have already been installed and the final goal is to have 300 water fountains spread across the three buildings. MEP Morin-Chartier also clarified that this move toward a zero-plastic work environment will not only benefit the environment and human health but will also result in substantial economic gains. She finally addressed the problem of the catering services of the EP, pointing out the lack of returning schemes of food packaging and the important lobbying work that needs to be done towards the suppliers of the Parliament to promote reusable packaging and alternative materials to single-use plastic.
Alice Bernard, Chemical Lawyer at Client Earth Ms Bernard started her presentation by informing the audience of the lack of regulation on the use of endocrine disruptors in FCM applications, due to the so-called “safe level” approach. She then defined endocrine disruptors as chemicals that can interfere or block the endocrine (or hormone) systems, disturbing the regular functioning of our bodies and causing serious health issues such as cancer, infertility, learning disabilities and other developmental disorders. Ms Bernard illustrated the different level of acceptance of ED’s presence in food, explaining that while endocrine disruptors are banned in many other Ms Bernard explaining the concept of "safe-level" applications (such as pesticides), the current legislation on FCMs foresees specific migration limits set per chemical, with the “safe level” determined case by case. Ms Bernard then presented the advantages and disadvantages of the “safe level” approach compared to the “no approval” approach and explained that, although the latter may generate a few false alarms, it always succeeds in preventing harm to human health due to mistaken scientific estimations. In Bernard’s opinion, attitude towards risk is a societal choice, which should be made taking into account not only the benefit of businesses, but also – and especially – the public interest. In conclusion, given that hormones play their messenger role in our bodies at low doses and that timing of exposure may matter more than the dose itself, Bernard underlined how the most recent review of scientific evidence by the European Chemicals Agency (2017) questions the possibility to set a “safe level” for endocrine disruptors.
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