REACH
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
The European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety has voted to strengthen the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) legislation during a meeting Oct. 10. The vote passed with 42 members in favor, 12 opposed and six abstentions. Amendments to the legislation include establishing a quality mark for REACH-compliant products, increased focus on alternatives to animal testing and a requirement for substituting compounds deemed "the most hazardous substances" with less toxic ingredients. REACH will undergo a deliberation in the near term before the entire Parliament before it is reviewed by the EU Council of Ministers. Slated to go into effect in the first quarter of next year, REACH requires importers and manufacturers of more than one ton of chemical per year to register with a European chemicals agency. A proposal for the legislation was overhauled in 2003 to reduce burdens on downstream users (1"The Rose Sheet" Nov. 3, 2003, p. 11)...