New EU chemicals law

In December 2006 the European Parliament and Council of Ministers approved a compromise deal on a chemicals regime for Europe. The REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) will replace about 40 separate items of legislation and will enter into force on 1 June 2007.

REACH does not have what it takes to adequately protect future generations and us from further contamination, far from it. Compared to the objectives outlined by the European Commission in its 2001 White Paper, REACH is more limited in scope, and safety data requirements have been reduced. Even so, for the first time a law is in place, which can, if properly enforced, help reduce our daily exposure to persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals. REACH could therefore signal the beginning of a new era.

The new EU Chemicals Agency, charged with processing information from chemical companies and starting to single out the most hazardous chemicals for substitution, will be fully operational in Helsinki by 2008. Greenpeace will keep a watchful eye on the work of the Agency, and we will not hesitate to cry foul if a known hazardous chemical that could have been replaced with something safer is ever authorised.