"Upcoming elections, a right-wing resurgence, and political pressure from corporations and trade groups may mean hopes of improvements to once-lauded chemical regulation are dead."
"Improvements to a pivotal European chemical policy may have permanently stalled after political pressure and industry interference in what many European environmental advocates say is a step backward for public health.
REACH, which stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, was enacted in the European Union 2007. Unlike chemical regulation in the U.S., REACH requires chemical companies to research the safety of their chemicals — such as those used in pesticides, cleaners, personal care products and plastics — before those chemicals can be sold. REACH, which applies to all chemical substances in products sold in the EU, is meant to protect the public from adverse health effects caused by hazardous chemicals.
Higher standards in the EU tend to drive up standards globally, Tatiana Santos, the head of chemicals policy at the European Environmental Bureau, a network of environmental advocacy organizations in the EU, told Environmental Health News (EHN). “Many parts of the world benefit actually from REACH, not only Europeans.”
As part of the 2020 European Green Deal, the European Commission (the EU’s executive branch) promised to propose a revised version of REACH that would improve its effectiveness, particularly by requiring stricter data collection in research done by chemical companies."
Grace van Deelen reports for Environmental Health News November 9, 2023.
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