Hormonization?

There it is again, an unfortunately done deal, discussed in secrecy and agreed to against the wishes of Canadian society. An agreement reached in stealth and infamy. An outcome of the latest Security and Prosperity Partnership, where a single North American regimen of authority for regulating industrial chemicals has been agreed upon.

As though our world hasn't been sufficiently chemically altered with the incautious use of chemicals whose future impact cannot really be known yet. What we do know, however, is that we've altered our fragile environment in the most hormonally unstable ways. Sacrificing animal and aquatic life in the process. Including our own. Impacting on our health and that of our children and future generations as well.

Instead of enacting more stringent legislation in the use of common chemicals known for their hormonally disruptive fall-out, and even greater health implications, we have agreed to a compromise which will no doubt result in our lowering of standards to match those of the United States. As the largest, more populous, wealthiest and politically more strident of the three countries on this continent, they have the most to say and the power to prove it.

Or the compelling arguments of their national CEOs of corporations do. The agreement, contained in Regulatory Co-operation in the Area of Chemicals sets out the intent, that American, Canadian and Mexican officials "have been discussing the potential for strengthening regulatory co-operation among our countries in the area of chemicals". Harmonization. Equal deleterious hormonizing of our atmosphere and environment.

Iron out the differences, smooth out the trajectory of testing, research, information gathering, assessment and risk-management actions, so that there are fewer obstacles in the way of bringing new chemicals to use and using them to the lowest possible standards. This is vitally important for the bottom line, if not for the health of North Americans and our already-stressed environment.

The SPP document compels Canada and the United States to work bilaterally "in the establishment of principles, priorities and processes for developing approaches, specific objectives and time-frames". To speak together, with a single voice of authority; that of the U.S. Fact of the matter is a trilateral group of CEOs recommended harmonization of hazardous industrial chemicals.

It's truly a nuisance for manufacturers to have to put up with the fact that chemicals listed in Canada's Domestic Substances List and the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act seem to differ, having the undesirable effect of preventing some U.S. products from entering and being sold within Canada. These industry CEOs are all clamouring for less trenchantly-nuisance government interference in their industry.

Most chemicals haven't seen that much government regulation in fact. It was only relatively recently that the government of Canada ordered an exhaustive assessment of 23,000 chemical substances, 85% of which were thought to have low risk, with another 4,300 set aside as requiring further exploration as a result of their suspected toxicity. All to be undone, if history has taught us anything in bilateral trading relations with the U.S.

This new initiative hasn't exactly found resounding approval in the scientific community within the U.S. either, as it happens, most encouragingly. A year ago nine thousand EPA scientists publicly criticized the U.S. chemicals regulatory agency for approving a line of pesticides regardless of the knowledge they harm the central nervous systems of fetuses and babies.

Any more stringently responsible approaches to the regulation of chemicals and their use, such as the European system are unacceptable to the U.S. administration which has characterized these more cautious approaches as an "illegal barrier to trade".

Ugh, and heaven help us all.