New chemicals law comes under attack

No sooner had the ink dried on new European Commission regulatory proposals for chemical substances, then the CBI jumped in to criticise them.

Under the proposed new EC system called REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals), manufacturers or importers of more than one tonne of a chemical substance per year would be required to register it in a central database. EU commissioners believe that this will not only contribute to protecting human health and the environment but 'maintain the competitiveness' of the EU chemicals industry as well.

A new European Chemicals Agency would manage the database and be responsible for providing non-confidential information to the public.

Michael Roberts, the Director of Business Environment at the CBI, is not quite so enthusiastic about the new proposals.

'Protecting the environment and people's health is vital, but this proposal will achieve little at huge cost. Everyday items made in this country, ranging from cars to paint to curtains, will become more expensive compared with products imported into the EU. This is a recipe for exporting jobs out of Europe to countries where environmental standards may be less stringent,' he said.

REACH would also require companies that produce and import chemicals to assess the risks arising from their use and to take the necessary measures to manage any risk they identify. This would reverse the burden of proof from public authorities to industry for ensuring the safety of chemicals on the market.

For its part, the UK-based Science and Technology Committee is to conduct a short inquiry into the implications of the EC proposals, establishing what, in order of priority, needs to be amended in the legislation and what the implications will be if the amendments are not made. The Committee has invited interested parties to submit their opinions to The Clerk of the Science and Technology Committee at the House of Commons in London by Friday January 9, 2004.

The EC estimates that the direct cost of REACH to the chemicals industry is estimated to be around 2.3 billion Euros over an 11 year period.