Some evidence indicates that onshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation entails health risks, but data is insufficient
by Prof Peter Hoet, member of the Scientific Committee on Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) and Chair of the SCHEER Working Group on oil and gas, Medical Faculty, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
The European Commission recently asked the Scientific Committee on Environmental and Emerging Risks to assess public health risks resulting from onshore oil and gas exploration and extraction activities on a commercial scale in the EU, and to identify knowledge gaps. The Scientific Committee provided their response in their Final Opinion on public health impacts and risks resulting from onshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the EU.
More than 1,300 different chemicals may be released in the environment as a result of oil and gas operations, but there are significant knowledge gaps about the possible health effects for nearby populations.
When beginning its work on this mandate, the Scientific Committee was surprised at the limited scientific assessment and monitoring of both the environment and people’s health near long-established onshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation sites in the EU. This was especially so, given the numerous studies conducted on similar American oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities and the amount of scientific evidence pointing towards possible adverse effects of these activities.
In its Opinion, the Scientific Committee concludes that the existing epidemiological studies provide weak to moderate evidence that onshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation entails health risks for the general population. They also indicate that the risk of some cancers and of adverse birth outcomes may be increased in populations living around onshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation sites.
The Scientific Committee also identified knowledge gaps and, to fill them, recommended establishing or conducting the following:
- A centralised and harmonised well-based inventory of all oil and gas exploration and exploitation sites in the EU;
- Analytical and modelling studies that identify, quantify and characterise exposure mixtures and their levels in the vicinity of these sites;
- Targeted biomonitoring and exposure assessments studies of populations potentially at risk;
- Large-scale epidemiological studies with accurate exposure assessment, and
- Quantitative risk assessment studies.
A public consultation on the preliminary version of the Opinion was open on the website of the Scientific Committees from 22 March to 6 May 2018. Information about the public consultation was broadly communicated to national authorities, international organisations and other stakeholders.
Each comment and reference submitted during this time was carefully considered by the Scientific Committee, and where appropriate, the text of the relevant sections of the Opinion was edited or explanations were added as a result of pertinent comments.
More information
- Read the final Opinion on the public health impacts and risks resulting from onshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the EU
- Read the factsheet for an easy-to-read summary of this Opinion
10th Revision published of the Notes of Guidance for testing of cosmetic ingredients and their safety evaluation
The Notes of Guidance provide a general guide for evaluating the safety of a finished cosmetic product. The document is mainly concerned with the testing and safety evaluation of cosmetic substances that are listed in the EU cosmetic legislation and for those for which safety concerns have been raised, but can also be used for all substances intended to be used in a cosmetic product. The Notes of Guidance can also be used to help make a product information file for a finished cosmetic product, which is required by the cosmetic regulation.
Prepared by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, a group of independent scientists that provides advice to the European Commission on consumer products, the Notes of Guidance are routinely updated to reflect changes in the industry, developments in cosmetic ingredients and progress and changes in scientific methodology.
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More information