New EU chemicals regulation ready to go

News | HSW
01.02.2007

The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of REACH - the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Regulation. The vote brings to an end more than seven years of debate in the European legislative system and intense lobbying by the chemicals industry and environmental groups.

REACH was approved by the Council of Ministers on 18 December and will come into force on 1 June 2007. The Regulation will replace some 40 pieces of European legislation on chemicals with a single law - albeit a large and complex one. In the UK, REACH will exist alongside COSHH - the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations - and though REACH will be the superior instrument, there will still be hazardous substances, including those generated in situ such as rubber fume and flour dust, that COSHH will continue to cover.

REACH affects around 30 000 substances and obliges producers to register all chemicals produced or imported in volumes of more than one tonne a year. The registration process will begin in 2008 and it will take 11 years for all substances to be registered, beginning with the most toxic substances and those produced in the largest quantities. For more hazardous substances, producers must submit substitution plans to replace them with safer alternatives.

REACH also establishes a new European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), based in Helsinki, which will become operational during 2008 and will be responsible for day-to-day management of the new legislative requirements. The ECHA will be supported in each member state by a competent authority, which in the UK is the HSE.

Socialist MEP Guido Sacconi, who was responsible for piloting the legislation through the last three years of negotiation, described REACH as "the world's most ambitious legislation on chemicals" and the final agreement as "an outstanding success".

Despite a warm welcome by politicians, the final vote has drawn a mixed response from industry, trade unions and environmental groups. 

Friends of the Earth said that REACH was a "first modest step" towards a new approach to chemicals regulation, but added, "Major loopholes in REACH will still allow many chemicals that can cause serious health problems, including cancer, birth defects and reproductive illnesses, to continue being used in manufacturing and consumer goods."

Alain Perroy of the European Chemicals Industry Council said the requirements on substitution were "unnecessary" and would "clearly add to costs" faced by the sector. And he warned that the new ECHA would have its work cut out. "It will be of paramount importance to establish an efficient and cost-effective agency," he said.

For its part, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) condemned the chemical industry's seven-year war of attrition against REACH but welcomed the fact that it put the burden of proof firmly on producers. According to ETUC's Joel Decaillon "That marks clear progress, because industry will now have to provide information on the safety of their chemicals before they can put them on the market."

For advice on what you should be doing to comply with REACH, contact the HSE helpdesk on tel 0845 408 9575 or email: ukreachca@hse.gsi.gov.uk