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search the site 17 May 2008
 
www.cefic.org
Background
 
Why a chemicals policy review ? 

Although the chemical industry was already highly regulated before REACH, it was recognised both by the politicians and industry that the existing European chemicals legislation was unclear and inefficient.

On the one hand, concerns existed about a perceived lack of information; on the other hand, research and innovation were clearly constrained by the existing laws.

The former chemicals legislation - especially the comprehensive risk assessment foreseen by the Existing Substances Regulation - was not achieving the appropriate limitation of the potential risk posed by chemicals to man and the environment. Although the risk assessments of existing substances provided a sound basis for the safe use of chemicals, the risk assessment process under this Regulation was time-consuming and therefore too slow. The final risk assessments were only completed for a small number of substances.

Another example of the inadequacy of the former legislation regards the notification of new substances, which should have in principle support innovation and research. In the past 18 years, only 2.700 new substances above 1 t/a have been placed on the market, compared to the around 2.000 chemicals notified in the US every year.

Although there was a wide range of legal and voluntary instruments in place for the control of chemicals at national, European and international level, calls from political and environmental groups for restrictions or bans on chemicals suspected of harming health and/or the environment became louder in the course of 1990’s. Consequently, the Environment Council decided in 1998 that the set of existing legislation should be reviewed.

The Council called on the Commission to “develop a new, integrated and coherent chemicals policy adequately reflecting the precautionary principle and the principle of sustainability and specifying the obligations incumbent on the parties involved”.


 

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