What EU chemicals policy could achieve
Making improvements in chemical safety
REACH: a first step towards chemicals management in Europe
In 2007, a new law on chemicals called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of CHemical substances) entered into force in the European Union. One of its aims is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through better control of chemical substances. Until now, the vast majority of the 100,000 chemicals available on the market have not been adequately tested for human health or safety.
Over the next decade, thousands of chemicals will be reg-istered, some of them will be further evaluated, and some chemicals will have to be replaced by safer alternatives. The most harmful chemicals, called “substances of very high concern”, will be put on a “Candidate List” and must obtain authorisation if they are to remain available on the market.
The list will include chemicals that:
- cause cancer, damage genes or
- are toxic to reproduction, or
- build up and persist in our bodies, or
- have hormone disrupting or other harmful properties.
In October 2008, the first so-called Candidate List was published. Consumers now have the right, on request, to information from manufacturers on whether a given product produced in Europe contains any of the substances on the list.
REACH has the merit of being a first step towards a more responsible approach to chemicals management. However, it still is inadequate in many ways. For example, the lengthy authorisation process leaves the door open for industry to continue selling some harmful chemicals. Chemical com-panies will still not be legally required to give sufficient safety information on the majority of chemicals in use today. Each chemical will be assessed for its risks separately even though research clearly shows that many substances can act more powerfully together in our bodies (the so-called “cocktail effect”). Equally importantly, many key decisions are being delayed, for example whether industry must always replace substances that can mimic hormones (endocrine disruptors) with safer alternatives wherever substitutes exist.
More information can be found on the “Chemicals policy, including REACH” section of HEAL’s Chemicals Health Monitor website at www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org
An activists’ guide to using and improving the EU’s
chemicals legislation, called “Navigating REACH” is available at www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org/spip.php?article273
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