EU:Members of the European Parliament have approved, by 529 votes to 98, the controversial Reach (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) package of proposals aimed at protecting consumers from the adverse effects of chemicals in everyday products, which was first mooted in 1998.
Chemical firms will be obliged to provide safety data to a new agency based in Helsinki on all chemicals produced or imported in a quantity greater than 10 tonnes a year. More than 30,000 substances are likely to be registered in the first 11 years after the regulation comes into force.
Reach now goes for formal approval to the European Council and will take effect in June next year. It will shift the burden of proof regarding testing and evaluation of the risks of chemicals from the authorities to industry.
Supporting the package, Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle told the parliament: "It was never going to be easy, with such a complex piece of legislation, to find the right balance between health and environmental objectives while maintaining the competitiveness of European industry. When it comes into force next year, companies will assume new . . . onerous responsibilities related to the substances they manufacture, import, distribute or use."