The EUs system for regulating chemicals, REACH, came into force 10 years ago, on the 1st June 2007. It aimed to gather reliable safety data on chemicals that are used in Europe, and to control those with problems, substituting them with safer alternatives. It was one of the most complex and controversial regulatory proposals that [...]
EU Commission
As concerns mount, EU Commission finally commits to action on laws regulating chemicals in packaging
Following on from a very critical report by the European Parliament, the European Commission has finally announced that it will review the laws regulating the chemicals allowed in food contact materials such as packaging. They have also published a detailed study showing the extent of the problems caused by the lack of adequate EU rules covering food [...]
It is clear that some very powerful forces within the European Commission are working to undermine effective regulation of hormone (endocrine) disrupting chemicals (EDCs). On 20th December 2016, buried in the pre-Christmas wind-down, the Commission released its review of how EDCs should be treated by the authorisation process in the EU’s main REACH chemicals legislation. [...]
We are all exposed to hundreds of man-made chemicals in our daily life, coming from everyday products including furniture, packaging and clothes. The aim of chemicals regulation is to try and establish which of these chemicals are dangerous, and then to put in place measures to ensure that they are used safely, or not used [...]
The main lobby organisation for Europe’s chemical industry, CEFIC, has been keen to publicise a new study from the European Commission, a “Cumulative Cost Assessment” of the cost of regulation on Europe’s chemical industry. However, as the European Commission has pointed out, the study doesn’t consider economic or broader societal benefits of the legislation (such as [...]
There’s increasing debate on the problems with the laws covering chemicals in food contact materials such as packaging, with the European Parliament currently discussing a report on the issue. On 10th March 2016 CHEM Trust organised a workshop in Brussels to discuss one important aspect, the overlap and gaps between the main chemicals regulation REACH [...]
The European Commission has finally presented its long delayed criteria for identifying endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) today. CHEM Trust is shocked by the proposal, which in effect means that there must almost certainly be harm to humans before a chemical can be identified as human EDC. The Commission proposes a very scientifically demanding wording for identification of EDCs, calling for evidence [...]
It’s well known that the UK was once the ‘dirty man of Europe’, and that the EU has helped us clean up our beaches and rivers. However, the EU has been working on something even more important to you and your family’s health: controlling the chemicals used in your food and everyday products. A shorter [...]
Nigel Haigh, who is one of CHEM Trust’s trustees, has recently published a book examining the evolution of EU environmental policy – something he has been closely involved with since the 1970s. The book describes the creation of a fairly comprehensive system of environmental policy, which in many areas has a global impact. It includes a [...]
A new report, published today by the European Environment Bureau (EEB), argues that unless the EU chemicals regulation REACH “is better enforced, it will never achieve its aim of removing harmful chemicals from the market“. EEB and CHEM Trust are particularly concerned about the way the ‘Authorisation’ system is working, which is supposed to result [...]
