Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 5 • Number 16 • 16th September 2005
EU to Exempt Small Quantities from REACH Legislation
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According to a decision by the EU Internal Market and Industry committees on 13 September, chemicals that are only produced in small quantities of one to ten tons in the EU will likely be exempt from the proposed EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restrictions of Chemicals) regulatory system obligation to provide chemical and safety reports (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 31 October 2003). The chemicals — which make up two-thirds of the total number of chemicals in use in the EU — will only be subject to the strict REACH registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals procedures if they have been deemed particularly hazardous. The two committees of the European Parliament made the decision in reaction to industry concerns regarding the impacts of the heavy regulatory burden on small and medium sized enterprises in the EU and in trading partners. Instead, industry has been advocating the “risk approach”, where only products which have a high risk of adversely affecting health and the environment would be subject to regulation, which was effectively adopted for small quantities by the two committees in their decision. Environmental groups and the Green party condemned the decision, however. “Committee members today voted in favour of improving the short-term profits of the chemical industry and removing their responsibility for the safety of their own products, at the expense of protecting public health, workers, consumers, and the environment from hazardous chemicals,” WWF, Friends of the Earth and the European Public Health Alliance - Environment Network said in a joint statement. While the legislation aims to protect the environment and human health from hazardous chemicals by shifting the burden of proof of safety to business, industry groups within and outside the EU have raised concerns regarding the potential impacts of the legislation on their costs and international trade. REACH is due to be voted on conclusively in November after approval by the Environment Committee on 4 October.
ICTSD Reporting; “Two EP committees streamline EU chemicals law,” EURACTIV, 15 September 2005; “EU Lawmakers Vote to Ease Rules for Chemical Firms,” REUTERS, 14 September 2005; “IMCO and ITRE votes fatally undermine REACH,” WWF, FOE AND EPH-EN, 13 September 2005.
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