Chemicals Regulations Chart

International Kit Chart

unnamed

About

The International Kit is intended to serve as a guide to the differences in chemical regulations and organic certifications for international Protect Our Breasts chapters and followers. There are currently chapters located at high schools and colleges in the United States, England, Canada, and India.

International Kit Guide

Chemical Regulation

The chemical regulation row of the International Kit identifies regulatory agencies and governing bodies that have implemented significant acts, regulations, and/or conventions pertaining to chemicals of concern and human health. Relevant acts, regulations, and conventions are listed thereafter.

Chemical of Concern

The chemical of concern row details country-specific differences in regulations, restrictions, and bans (or the lack thereof) on unique chemical substances. The chemicals included in this section of the International Kit have been selected based on their links to endocrine disrupting and/or carcinogenic effects, as well as their ubiquity in consumer products or the environment. Our original intention was to rank the chemicals in tiers based on the level of scientific evidence associating each chemical’s effects on breast cancer incidence. However, due to reasons including the correlation-causation fallacy and the constant emergence of new science, the chemicals are instead listed alphabetically.

Scientific studies have shed light on xenoestrogenic mixtures (substances that mimic the hormone estrogen), rather than single compounds. Findings indicate that there is a strong positive association between total xenoestrogenic burden and breast cancer risk, ultimately illustrating the potential for individual chemical interactions to elicit additive or synergistic effects (Pastor-Barriuso et al., 2016).

International conventions issue a set of guidelines regarding a particular chemical or group of chemicals. Individual parties are then delegated to signature, and ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession of the proposed regulations. These stages of regulation are reflected in the International Kit with respect to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

  • Signature is the formal expression of intent to be bound, but there is no legal obligation yet. Signature is subject to ratification, but does not prejudge it.
  • Ratification indicates a party’s consent to be bound to a treaty and grants parties the necessary time-frame to enact the necessary legislation to give effect to that treaty.
  • Acceptance, approval, and accession have the same legal effect as ratification. They are similar means by which a party establishes its consent to be bound by a treaty, depending on legal or policy requirements.

Organic Certification Logo

The organic certification logo row of the International Kit contains images of country-specific certification logos that identify organic food and consumer products. Each logo must meet standards and requirements specified by federal authorities and/or independent third party organizations. Organic labels typically refer to the lack of synthetic pesticides used in growing a product. Though organic products are generally safer than conventional products, the label does not guarantee a lack of chemical carcinogenicity from other sources.

Resources

The resources row of the International Kit provides links to useful chemical databases, search engines, and other relevant chemical guides.

References:
R. Pastor-Barriuso, M. F. Fernandez, G. Castano-Vinyals, D. Whelan, B. Perez-Gomez, J. Llorca, C. M. Villanueva, M. Guevara, J. M. Molina-Molina, F. Artacho-Cordon, L. Barriuso-Lapresa, I. Tusquets, T. Dierssen-Sotos, N. Aragones, N. Olea, M. Kogevinas et M. Pollan. Total effective xenoestrogen burden in serum samples and risk for breast cancer in a population-based multicase-control study in spain. Environ Health Perspect, 2016; 124: 1575-1582.

International Kit Chart

unnamed

Copy of International Kit Chart3Copy of International Kit Chart5Copy of International Kit Chart