What is needed to protect wild fish and water from chemical pollution?
The Government needs to:
1. Prioritise prevention and precaution.
2. Commit to a phasing-out of the most hazardous chemicals from household items and agricultural use. Chemicals for non-essential use should be banned.
3. Address the ‘cocktail effect’ in discharges. This refers to the mixing of different chemicals and the impact it has on the environment.
4. Establish an effective monitoring and alert system for chemicals that leak into the environment.
5. Ensure the effective regulation of chemicals. Chemicals needs to be grouped according to their structural similarities and their ability to persist in the environment. This will make sure we don’t replace one hazardous chemical with another.