Stefania Bianchi
BRUSSELS, Nov 17 2005 (IPS) – Environmentalists and consumer groups are warning that a key European law on the control of chemicals could lead to huge risks to the environment and human health, following a crucial vote in the European Parliament Thursday.
During a plenary session Thursday (Nov. 17), members of the European Parliament voted to support legislation on Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH).
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted 407 to 155 in favour of the proposed legislation in the 732-seat European Parliament at its headquarters in Strasbourg. But within minutes of the vote, environmentalists called on European Union (EU) governments, which still have the final say on the new rules, to reject the bill.
The draft legislation is designed to protect people and the environment from the adverse effects of chemicals found in a wide range of products like paint, detergents, cars and computers.
If the proposals are adopted, some 30,000 substances would have to be registered with a new Helsinki-based EU chemicals agency which would administer the new system.
Companies would have to demonstrate that the substances they used and produced posed no danger to human health and the environment. They would have to submit data supporting their claims. In many cases this would require costly and complex tests.
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Chemicals that were earlier approved would be subject to more modern and stringent testing. Those that do not pass the tests would be banned.
The legislation could have a major impact on thousands of companies around the world that make chemicals or use them in their products. It will apply to goods imported into the EU as well as chemicals manufactured within the EU.
The new rules, which have been under discussion for over two years, would also clamp down on the use of animals to test new chemicals.
The chemicals industry has been lobbying MEPs hard for rules that are not too strict, warning that jobs are on the line. Environmentalists are pushing for tough regulations to protect consumers and the environment.
Under industry pressure, the main political groups in Parliament agreed last week on a compromise ahead of Thursday s vote.
The European Commission, the EU executive arm, had initially proposed that about 30,000 chemicals manufactured or imported in volumes of more than one metric tonne should undergo tests at industry expense.
But under the compromise between the conservative European People s Party (EPP) and the Socialist group, health testing will not be necessary for chemicals manufactured or imported in quantities of less than 10 tonnes nearly two-thirds of the total.
Environmental groups including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth acknowledged Thursday that an important step had been taken in replacing hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives. But they said thousands of chemicals could be used without provision of health and safety information.
A REACH adopted on this basis will not deliver the health and environment protection the public needs, as it would leave thousands of chemicals without basic toxicity data, the groups said in a joint statement.
The groups also condemned the decision to weaken safety testing requirements for all chemicals covered by REACH.
They warn that the failure to provide basic safety information about chemicals will make it impossible to systematically identify and replace the most hazardous substances, which is the one of the principal aims of REACH.
At present we lack basic data on the environmental and health impacts of 90 percent of substances, they added.
Friends of the Earth criticised the watering down of the registration requirements under pressure from the chemicals industry.
After the intense lobbying of the chemicals industry, REACH as it stands today is nothing but a vague reminder of its original form. The adoption of industry-placed amendments would mean that the reform project would be a complete failure, and 87,500 chemicals will still be untested, Aleksandra Kordecka, Friends of the Earth chemicals campaigner told IPS.
