“Legalized” endocrine disruptors. The case of a phthalate in the European REACH regulation.

Des perturbateurs endocriniens « légalisés ». Le cas d’un phtalate dans le règlement européen REACH

Henri Boullier (1, 2)

1 IRIS - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les enjeux Sociaux - sciences sociales, politique, santé
2 CERMES3 - UMR 8211 / U988 / UM 7 - CERMES3 - Centre de recherche Médecine, sciences, santé, santé mentale, société

How can the endless controversies on endocrine disruptors be explained, considering that many of them are on the verge of being – or are already – regulated? The case of DEHP, a chemical well known for its endocrine disrupting properties, which is omnipresent in everyday consumer goods, illustrates the limits of the legal and administrative framework designed for their marketing. In the context of the European REACH regulation, political, diplomatic, and even economic compromises result in a categorization of DEHP uses such as to temper the weight of regulatory norms in the chemical industry.

Comment comprendre la persistance de controverses sur les perturbateurs endocriniens alors que des dispositifs réglementaires les prennent déjà en charge ? Le cas d'une molécule aux propriétés bien connues de perturbation endocrinienne, comme le DEHP, un plastifiant omniprésent dans des produits que nous utilisons quotidiennement, illustre certaines limites des dispositifs légaux qui régissent la commercialisation des substances chimiques. Dans le cadre du règlement européen REACH, des compromis politiques, diplomatiques et économiques conduisent ainsi à catégoriser les usages du DEHP de manière à ménager la contrainte qui pèse sur l'industrie chimique. Mots-clés : risques / dispositifs institutionnels / expertise / perturbateurs endocriniens Abstract-"Legalized" endocrine disruptors. The case of a phthalate in the European REACH regulation. How can the endless controversies on endocrine disruptors be explained, considering that many of them are on the verge of being-or are already-regulated? The case of DEHP, a chemical well known for its endocrine disrupting properties, which is omnipresent in everyday consumer goods, illustrates the limits of the legal and administrative framework designed for their marketing. In the context of the European REACH regulation, political, diplomatic, and even economic compromises result in a categorization of DEHP uses such as to temper the weight of regulatory norms in the chemical industry.

Domaines: Sociologie; Science politique

Henri Boullier. Des perturbateurs endocriniens « légalisés ». Le cas d’un phtalate dans le règlement européen REACH. Natures Sciences Sociétés, 2018, 26 (1), pp.87-91. ⟨10.1051/nss/2018013⟩. ⟨halshs-02132705⟩