Executive summary (from the EDEC Plan of Action):
In the last century over 70'000 new manmade chemicals were synthesised and released into our environment without proper and adequate testing. Recent studies and laboratory experiments within the science of endocrine disruption have revealed the frightening extent of the impact that many of these chemicals have on our health and environment when they disrupt the delicate yet vital endocrine systems found in most vertebrate animals. Overwhelming and alarming evidence indicates that exposure to concentrations measured in parts per trillion (i.e. less than one drop in 25 Olympic-size swimming pools) of these endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can lead to diseases. For example: cancer, immune system suppression, damages to the reproductive system, birth defects and abnormal expression of sexual characteristics. These findings have been verified and endorsed by scientists and endocrinologists across the globe, the most notable endorsements being the Wingspread Consensus Statement (Appendix G) and the Yokohama Consensus Statement (Appendix H).
Scientists now recognise that it is not possible to accurately determine the safe level of exposure to these chemicals. Unlike the traditional toxicological paradigm of monotonic dose-response curves, just a few EDC molecules can operate like terrorists and hijack the hormonal control of development and cause intense, life-long damage, undermining the immune system, eroding intelligence and/or diminishing reproductive capacity.
Most EDCs are also persistent organic pollutants (POPs) because they do not break down easily and tend to bio-accumulate in the environment. They can also be passed on in the womb and through breast milk. Analysis of polar bear fatty tissue indicates that POPs can be bio-magnified over 25 million times between the top & bottom of the food chain. The recent 184 page European Community (EU) report entitled: “Dioxins and other POPs in by-products, recyclates and wastes and their potential to enter the food chain – Stage II” [Authors: European POPs Expert Team, September 2002] clearly indicates that modern man can not avoid exposure to many of these chemicals.
These dangerous background levels of EDCs in our food chain are being linked to increased incidences of endocrine related diseases. Cancer, particularly those forms related to endocrine dysfunction, such as pancreatic, prostate, breast, ovarian and cervical cancer, has reached alarming levels. The latest statistics show that 49% of American males will contract cancer in their lifetimes. In England, testicular cancer has increased in incidence by 55% between 1979 and 1991.
At present in South Africa, large quantities of EDCs are being released into our atmosphere, soil and groundwater through the manufacture, use and waste disposal of EDC containing products. Of particular concern is the use of highly toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals in their direct form such as DDT and pentachlorophenyl (PCP). Both PCP and DDT are already banned in many countries. Another area of immediate concern is the informal policy of open-fire burning of combustible waste at municipal dumpsites, which creates and releases large volumes of dioxins into the atmosphere. According to the Chlorine Chemical Council, open fire burning of waste emits up to 10,000 times more pollutants than waste incineration within a modern municipal waste combustor.
The extent of EDC environmental contamination in South Africa is not well known. South Africa does not even have a dioxin testing facility. Extrapolating international data into the South African context, based on its current EDC use and waste disposal practices, would imply that it is impossible at present for any South African to prevent harmful exposure to these highly toxic chemicals.
As South Africans, we are blessed with a constitution that protects our human rights. It is clear that at least three of these rights are being violated as follows:
(i) The ubiquitous presence of these harmful and persistent EDCs in our environment directly violates the rights outlined in chapter 2, section 24 of the Constitution, namely that:
“Everyone has the right -
(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being.
(b) To have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation”
(ii) The fact that it is impossible to prevent harmful exposure to these manmade chemicals violates the rights outlined in chapter 2, section12 (2) of the Constitution, namely that
“everyone has the right to bodily and psychological integrity, which includes the right to security in and control over their body”.
(iii) The fact that these unsafe and untested manmade chemicals have and are still being released into our environment without adequate testing constitutes what is now being acknowledged within the scientific community as the largest uncontrolled (albeit unintended) experiment in our history. Therefore the continued production and release of these persistent EDC chemicals can be seen to further violate the rights outlined in chapter 2, section 12 (2) of the constitution, namely that everyone has the right “not be subjected to medical or scientific experiments without their informed consent”. The ethics of spraying DDT in homes without informing the residents of the dangers, particularly to pregnant mothers, is highly questionable. (Before DDT can be used on laboratory rats at any South African university, no matter how small the amount, the experimenters have to convince an ethics committee. The residents of the Limpopo province and KwaZulu Natal are afforded no such protection.)
This document contains a summary of the known endocrine system disruptors and their proven effects in order to clearly show that our constitutional rights listed above have been and are continuously being violated by the release of these EDCs into our environment. The document also contains a plan of action to help Government with the development and implementation of a safe, practical and effective strategy that would eliminate EDC pollution. The plan contains a list of non-negotiable measures that should be implemented swiftly by Government should they wish to uphold their constitutional duty of protecting present and future citizens in the light of overwhelming recent scientific evidence documenting the dangers relating present practices of use and disposal of EDC containing products within South Africa. We believe that it is reasonable to expect that by the end of November 2004 the following non-negotiable measures should already be in place, namely:
· The approval of an emergency budget of at least R350 million (refer to section 15.1) to effectively initiate appropriate responses in the fight against EDCs.
· The banning of all EDCs in their direct form as outlined in section 15.2.
· The elimination of unsafe waste disposal practices as outlined in 15.3.
· The phased elimination of products linked to direct EDC contamination of our food-chain and body systems, as outlined in section 15.4.
· The establishment of an EDC-taskforce to assess South African EDC exposure levels, as outlined in 15.5.
· The adoption of the precautionary principle when evaluating the safety of new technologies, products and materials, as outlined in section 15.11.
Safe alternatives to nearly all EDC containing products do exist but they have not been adopted because of a lack of market awareness combined with the prohibitive manufacture start-up costs associated with new tooling and processes. There are, however, many positive economic benefits linked to the development and adoption of new safer technologies, some of these include:
· The creation of jobs in research and development that would place South Africa on the cutting edge of environmentally safe technologies.
· The creation of new jobs in the manufacturing sector required for the production of EDC-free products and materials.
· The reduction in foreign expenditure linked to the importation of toxic EDC containing chemicals and materials into the country.
· The creation of new jobs in the farming sectors to support the manufacture of EDC-free plant fibre based bio-plastic alternatives such as PLA.
· Exports of manufactured EDC-free products and materials to markets concerned with health and environment protection.
· Exports of agricultural products to markets concerned with food safety.
· Patent profits from EDC-free alternatives developed in South Africa.
· The cost savings on cost of health care relating to EDC diseases.
· Benefits related to an increase in society’s average IQ as a result of not disrupting the cognitive development of children.
View the
Plan of Action
for
the protection of the constitutional rights
violated
by our continuous and unavoidable
exposure
to harmful and persistent
endocrine
disrupting chemicals.
Definition of Endocrine Disruptors:
"Chemicals
(or mixtures) from outside the body that can
interfere
with the development or functioning of body systems
in
humans, wildlife, and especially their offspring, and may
lead
to irreversible adverse health effects."
Endocrine Disruptors Research Initiative
EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety
International Agency for Research on Cancer
International Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC)
International Programme on Chemical Safety
OECD Environmental Health and Safety
CONTACT DETAILS:
E-mail: info@edec.org.za