Lobbying blamed for failure by EU to ban toxic chemicals

An investigation into why chemicals used in everyday products and described by the World Health Organisation as a global threat have not been banned by the EU puts the blame on intensive industry lobbying.

Carried out by the campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory, and French journalist Stéphane Horel, using European Commission documents obtained under freedom of information rights, it plots in detail the fate of three pieces of legislation designed to control the chemicals.

One of these hormone disrupting products — bisphenol A — was banned four years ago from being used in babies bottles.