...With the agreement of the European Parliament, the REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) comes near to final adoption. The European Commission welcomes this vote which brings to an end over three years' negotiations on a comprehensive reform of manufacturing, marketing, import and use of chemical substances.... more...

...From a political standpoint, I see RoHS as a logical consequence of widespread environmental abuse by business. People have attempted direct legal remedies and found that process to be too slow, costly and ineffective. Go ask people living next to chemical plants in Louisiana. Legislation is also a slow process, but it has a broader reach and a more lasting effect than a lawsuit.... more...

...REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) is likely to be implemented from June 1, 2007. According to this regulation, companies and organizations have to transfer chemical risk responsibility from management to enterprises.... more...

...Aggressive new legislation by the European Union aimed at protecting human health and the environment is expected to create significant financial and bureaucratic burdens on Delaware's $1.9 billion chemical industry. The EU law, called REACH, or Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, is expected to take effect in June and get phased in during the next 11 years. It is more stringent and comprehensive than U.S. laws governing the chemical industry that haven't changed in 30 years.... more...

...Last week, the European Union took historic action by adopting REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals) - the world's toughest policy for dealing with dangerous chemicals.... more...

...With the final passage of the new EU law regulating chemicals in the bloc, the food industry has expressed concern about the uncertainties relating to the scope of the legislation and the eventual cost to processors.... more...

...The precautionary principle is also being used to justify a massive expansion of Europe's chemical regulations under the so-called REACH proposal, writes Mr. Cohen. REACH -- which stands for registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals -- will impose a massive new paperwork structure on industry and will likely lead to product regulations and bans that will be very costly. The United States will be affected because many of our firms export goods to Europe. Moreover, the greens and their allies at the U.N. are looking for ways to globalize the program. In fact, the U.N. has recently formed a program called the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), which is slated to provide a voluntary regime to manage chemical use worldwide. Activists are working to ensure that this program follows the precautionary principle.... more...

...The European Union’s (EU) upcoming chemical legislation ‘REACH’ and the US, Canada and Japan’s push for ‘responsible care’ programme are likely to have an impact on Indian chemical exporters.... more...

...European Parliament President Josep Borrell and Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen signed two major pieces of EU legislation in the Chamber in Brussels, officially signing both REACH - new chemicals legislation and the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for Research. REACH enters into force on 1 June 2007 and FP7 enters into force on 1 January 2007.... more...

...EU lawmakers have approved a new chemical law aimed at making producers and importers of chemicals, used in goods such as personal care products, prove that the substances they put on the market are safe for consumers.... more...

...The European Union on Monday signed into law far-reaching rules governing the multibillion-euro (dollar) chemicals industry, saying the legislation will promote the health and safety of its citizens.... more...

...EU environment ministers signing the REACH directive have set the chemicals reform bill on course to come into effect next June. The European Parliament passed it last week. REACH (for Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) requires companies to prove that substances in everyday products are safe.... more...

...A new EU law to reform the chemicals sector is set to enter into force in June 2007 after it was given the formal backing from the governments of the EU member states. Under the new regulations, companies will be required to prove that substances in everyday products are safe while the industry will be forced to substitute dangerous chemicals with safer ones when alternatives are available.... more...

...European lawmakers passed a sweeping environmental law yesterday that will regulate nearly a third of the roughly 100,000 chemicals produced in or imported to the European Union (E.U.). Called Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals, or REACH, the bill is 8 years in the making and has been one of the most intensely lobbied pieces of legislation in E.U. history. Industry groups are bracing for the changes while some environmental organizations say the law does not go far enough.... more...

...EU lawmakers have approved a new chemical law aimed at making producers and importers of chemicals prove that the substances they put on the market are safe for consumers - making it one of the most controversial laws in years. The European Parliament voted to approve the new bill known as REACH - Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals - after more than three years of debate between industry and environmentalists.... more...

...The EU Parliament yesterday voted for a tougher regulatory regime for chemicals, requiring producers and users to replace some of the current chemicals in use with safer alternatives, if they exist.... more...

...New laws on the testing of thousands of chemicals in daily use will be approved by European MPs today - heralding the European Union's biggest-ever single piece of legislation. The new rules will be confirmed at talks between EU environment ministers in Brussels next week - and are expected to be in place within months.... more...

...The European Parliament approved a landmark law on Wednesday to regulate toxic chemicals, aiming to set a global standard after years of fierce debate between industry and environmental campaigners.... more...

...European lawmakers adopted yesterday tough new rules on the use of hazardous chemicals, passing one of the EU's most ambitious and hotly disputed legislative packages in years.... more...

...The European Parliament votes on a wide-ranging chemical reform bill on Wednesday that is meant to increase the amount of information policymakers have about the chemicals people use on a daily basis.... more...

...After last-gasp negotiations between ministers and legislators, the European Parliament today gave the go-ahead to the launch of Reach, the European Union regulatory regime for chemicals.... more...

...The European Union launches a major reform of the chemicals sector on Wednesday with a new law that has alienated trading partners and riled industry in an effort to protect health and the environment.... more...

...The European Parliament will tighten rules on the use of chemicals in goods from shirts to mobile phones, sparking industry warnings of new trade barriers as Europe extends a push to set worldwide environmental standards.... more...

...The latest version of a draft European Union law governing the use of toxic chemicals will create legal uncertainty and higher costs for industry, business groups said on Wednesday before a vote on the bill next week.... more...

...MEPs look set to give the final go-ahead to a European law that from April will set up a system for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (REACH). It will force manufacturers and importers to list the substances they produce and any possible dangers, affecting an estimated 30,000 of the 100,000 chemicals currently on the EU market. Many of these are found in everyday items - soap, toys and garden products being just three examples.... more...

...Replacing toxic substances with safer alternatives will mean additional costs for industry leaders who condemned the "illusions" of a "command and control" approach to chemicals regulation.... more...

...It is not only the chemical manufacturers or importers that will be affected by the new European Environmental directive the REACH directive(Registration Evaluation Authorization of Chemicals). Electronics manufacturers that imports the chemicals from a country outside of EU also have to register its chemicals.... more...

...European business lobbies on Wednesday warned that the EU's draft legislation controlling the use of chemicals will stifle competitiveness, lead to increased cost for the industry and burden companies with unnecessary bureaucracy.... more...

...But that's minor compared with the EU's Registration, Evaluation & Authorization of Chemicals initiative. It will require chemical manufacturers who want to do business in Europe to submit health hazard data, most of which is not available today, for thousands of chemicals. The U.S. government has joined a number of other governments and industry leaders in lobbying against the proposal, saying it would restrict chemicals that could be harmful no matter how remote the risk. .... more...

...European Union governments announced on Friday a proposed law to restrict the use of dangerous chemicals in products but environmentalists continued to protest that the bill is too conservative.... more...

...EU governments and legislators yesterday agreed on proposals regulating the use of chemicals throughout the bloc, moving the legislation a giant step forward toward implementation.... more...

...Environmental groups were dismayed after a deal on the EU's chemicals safety law saw defenders of business interests obtaining success on most of their core issues.... more...

...Northern Ireland companies have been warned that forthcoming European legislation will place responsibility on all businesses to ensure the chemicals they use are safe. A seminar in Belfast heard the European Union's Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) rules, which are to be introduced in April, will affect thousands of Ulster businesses that produce and use a wide variety of everyday and specialist substances.... more...

... Work on European Union legislation on closer monitoring of chemicals, which has been under examination for nearly ten years, was finally completed in Brussels on Friday. For Finland, the completion of the legislative work has special significance, because it gives the go-ahead for setting up the EU’s Chemical Agency in Helsinki.... more...

...European Union negotiators announced on 1 December that they had overcome the final hurdles that were holding up new legislation to control the use of chemicals. The breakthrough in late-night discussions between legislators and ministerial officials should clear the way for an EU-wide regulatory regime, known as Reach, to come into force in 2007.... more...

...Negotiators of European Parliament and of the Council reached an agreement on the new chemical legislation known as REACH (registration, evaluation, authorisation of chemicals). A number of EPP-ED proposals are taken on board to get rid of much red tape so the directive will be less bureaucratic.... more...

...It is one of the largest laws ever put together by the 25-country EU bloc. The law _ Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, or REACH _ foresees the registration of some 30,000 chemicals with a new European agency empowered to ban those deemed to present significant health threats.... more...

...European Union lawmakers and governments struck a deal on Thursday over a wide-ranging draft law to reform the chemicals sector, a negotiator for Finland, holder of the EU presidency, told Reuters.... more...

...After years of haggling over how to balance environmental concerns against business growth, EU governments and lawmakers reached a deal on Thursday on The Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals law, or REACH.... more...