...The EU REACH legislation came into force June 2007 and looks to become the most important legislation of the decade. Harvey Stone, VP of Business Development and REACH expert at the Goodbye Chain Group sees REACH as the most significant product toxicity compliance issue of the next decade. "Because it requires companies to gather and communicate all kinds of full-disclosure substance information in regard to volumes, toxicity, suppliers and so on" says Stone, "REACH could lead to costly business disruption for companies that do not address the June 1 - Nov. 30 2008 pre-registration deadlines, as well as the subsequent registration, notification and authorization timetables."... more...

...REACH is the new catchword on the chemicals horizon, although actually it is not so new since the "child" was born back in 1999; perhaps even earlier, considering all the discussions about safety and hazardous materials that have been dragging on for at least thirty years. Since births are nearly always associated with feelings, this perhaps explains why the REACh discussions were conducted in a highly emotional atmosphere right up to June 2007. The Internet consultations yielded 6400 comments. No wonder - since the draft regulation comprised more than 1200 pages!... more...

...Circa-1970s federal laws governing the production and use of hazardous chemicals require so little health testing that 4,400 workers' deaths in California annually are attributed to chemical exposures, according to a University of California report released today. Roughly 208,000 workers in the state each year also cope with illnesses from exposure to chemicals, as do 240,000 California children at any given time, added the report. The costs, in medical expenses and lost wages and benefits, reach $2.6 billion.... more...

...Report Buyer, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a new report which finds that despite the recent slump in European chemical production, the EU is still at the core of production and R&D activities of the global chemical industry. "EU Chemical Industry Analysis" finds that the EU chemical industry is projected to forge ahead at a CAGR of nearly 3.2% from 2007 to 2010 in a scenario where countries around the world are enhancing their chemical production to fortify the foundations of other related industries.... more...

...As of January 2008, the Soil Association has banned the use of man-made nanomaterials from all Soil Association certified organic products. This applies particularly to health and beauty products, but also to food and textiles. Ahead of the Government, we are the first organisation in the world to take action against this hazardous, potentially toxic technology that poses a serious new threat to human health.... more...

...Safety. The word permeates the aviation industry, from built-in procedures for job shift changes in maintenance to aircraft operations. No one disagrees that safety is a cornerstone of the entire aviation industry. Globally, the industry has eliminated the use of several hazardous chemicals, improved maintenance safety practices and embraced recycling and better disposal practices. Safety and "environmental issues are a never ending, always evolving process," said Ramsey Sarkis, Cascade Aerospace's director of maintenance.... more...

...The federal government said Friday it failed to reach a deal with Dow Chemical Co. over the study and interim cleanup of dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River system. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it ended talks with Dow and was reviewing its options for ensuring dioxin contamination in the river system and the Midland area is fully addressed.... more...

...Jeremy Faludi is one Worldchanging's secret weapons. Jer's recent Your Stuff: If It Isn't Grown, It Must Be Mined is a must read, but you also owe it to yourself to check out his terrific and under-read Green Computing Update, which comes in four parts... more...

...The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has issued a call for tenders for a framework contract for services on technical, scientific, health, environmental and socio-economic questions concerning the implementation of REACH regulation. The call will result in between three and seven framework contracts with reopening of competition up to four years with multi-disciplinary companies or organisations, including consortia of them, knowledgeable to provide services in technical, scientific, health, environmental and socio-economic issues related to chemicals.... more...

...he country's largest chemical enterprise, ChemChina, said on Thursday that it had set a target of zero emissions and would put emissions reduction at the core of its work for 2008. Ren Jianxin, president of ChemChina, told the annual work meeting that several pilot projects would aim to achieve zero discharge of pollutants into waste water, with a special budget of 700 million yuan (US$96 million).... more...