...Boots has joined forces with the WWF to put pressure on the EU to ensure that stronger chemicals legislation is implemented. MEPs are set to vote on the new legislation, known as Reach (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), this autumn.... more...

...The legislation, known as Reach, for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, has generated one of the bitterest and most expensive lobbying campaigns the European establishment in Brussels has ever seen. For European citizens, the rules could raise the cost of everyday products but also offer hope that there would be less chance of contact with harmful substances through those products.... more...

...The Health and Safety Executive will from now on be providing a helpdesk to support UK business in the run-up to the EU Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals (REACH) regulations coming into force.... more...

...The electronics manufacturing sector is finally realizing they need to address the impact of emerging global chemicals regulations on their businesses. A group of U.S. government officials and representatives from the automotive, aerospace, computing and other electronics manufacturing sectors met last month at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) to address the impact of global chemical regulations including the European Union's registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals (REACH) directive and emerging chemical regulations in Asia and Latin America on U.S. manufacturers, according to ICIS news.... more...

...The European Commission on Thursday asked EU nations to back a ban on exports of mercury from 2011 as part of efforts to cut down the global supply of the highly toxic chemical. The EU is the world's biggest exporter of mercury, which is gradually being phased out by industry - even by its main European user, the chlor-alkali sector which supplies chlorine to a wide range of manufacturers.... more...

...The UK's food and drink sector is gathering on 26 October to discuss the impact that the EU's proposed chemicals regulation will have on the industry. The one day workshop is being held by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) to coincide with the European Parliament's second reading of the controversial draft EU law requiring the registration and authorisation of chemicals (REACH).... more...

...Atrion International announced the launch of an information web-portal covering REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) related topics, including in-depth industry viewpoints on this new European Chemical framework for regulating the manufacture, import, marketing and use of chemicals.... more...

...Friends of the Earth (Malta) sees the Environment Committee vote on the new EU chemicals law (REACH) as a vital step towards protecting health and the environment from chemical contamination. The Committee strongly supported the substitution of hazardous chemicals whenever safer alternatives are available.... more...

...Environmental representatives have emerged triumphant in the latest round of negotiations over the finer bones of contention of the European REACH chemicals legislation, due to come in force in April next year.... more...

...Leading toxicologists have warned green groups are "misleading" the public with chemical contamination campaigns. They said they are deliberately and unfairly scaring the public. In particular, they criticised a WWF campaign that has highlighted the presence of certain chemicals in blood, food and in babies' umbilical cords.... more...

...The proposed European Union (EU) legislation on curbing health and environmental hazards posed by chemicals is expected to hit the Indian chemicals exporters adversely. Under new legislation, Registration Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH), exporters of chemicals will have to register their products with complete safety data.... more...

...Leading medical associations on Wednesday urged European lawmakers not to bend to industry demands and dillute a proposal that would force chemical companies to substitute dangerous chemicals with safer alternatives.... more...

...Of the roughly 3,500 chemicals put on the European market since 1981, 70% are known to possess dangerous properties. All of those have been tested, but they make up just a fraction of the chemicals available. Of the overall number of chemicals - estimates range from 30,000 to 70,000 - just 3% have been tested for possible carcinogens. Meanwhile, no test data exist for 15% of them.... more...

...An EU committee has endorsed tough new laws on chemicals, against the wishes of industry and European ministers.... more...

...A new European law will force engineering firms to change the way they operate, but many are still not aware of the acute changes necessary, Rolls Royce's head of environmental management said on Thursday.... more...

...To the dismay of many chemical manufacturers, a committee of the European Parliament on Oct. 10 toughened pending legislation to control industrial substances throughout the European Union. Changes would require substitution of the most hazardous substances... more...

...he European Parliament's powerful environmental committee has approved tough new rules regulating the bloc's 400 billion euro chemical industry, setting the stage for a tense showdown between the European Union and the world's biggest chemical companies, which argue that the regulations risk damaging business and hurting global trade.... more...

...Green and liberal MEPs in the Environment Committee pulled their weight behind Socialist Rapporteur Guido Sacconi to strengthen the Parliament's position ahead of a final round of negotiations on REACH... more...

...The phase out of toxic chemicals as supported in the Parliament's Environment Committee is causing anxiety among business organisations but has been welcomed by health organisations, environmental groups and trade unions.... more...

...China launched a website on Thursday in response to new rules from the European Union on chemicals, which may take effect starting next year. The website, which can be found at reach.tbt-sps.gov.cn, was initiated by the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (SAQSIQ) and aims to provide first-hand information to enterprises and offer them consultations and services, said an official with the administration.... more...

...With deadlines looming for final agreement on the planned European Union system of registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (REACH), the European Parliament's Environment Committee is pushing for further amendments.... more...

...U.S. and European firms were unsuccessful in an attempt to make the proposed European policy on chemical regulation more affordable during recent committee consideration of the bill in the EU Parliament. "Even if business had succeeded in reducing paperwork costs, the policy would still have adverse effects around the world," noted Angela Logomasini, the Competitive Enterprise Institute's director of risk and environmental policy and author of a study on the topic published by the Brussels-based Hayek Institute.... more...

...The environmental committee of the European Parliament approved new rules regulating industrial chemicals, foreshadowing a showdown between the European Union and the world’s biggest chemical companies, which argue that the regulations could damage business and hurt global trade.... more...

...The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is now providing helpdesk support to UK business in the run-up to the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals (REACH) regulations coming into force.... more...

...The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) welcomes the appointment of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the UK Competent Authority for the forthcoming EU chemicals legislation, REACH - registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals... more...

...'How will consumers be informed about chemicals?' remains an issue for the second reading of REACH. Industry wants to limit categorisation to proven risks, while NGOs are pushing for guidelines based on the precautionary principle, including hazard labelling.... more...

...European Union lawmakers handed a victory to environmentalists on Tuesday, endorsing rules that would force companies to substitute safe substances when available for hazardous ones in the bloc's new chemicals regime.... more...

...Destined for American kitchens, planks of birch and poplar plywood are stacked to the ceiling of a cavernous port warehouse. The wood, which arrived in California via a cargo ship, carries two labels: One proclaims "Made in China," while the other warns that it contains formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical.... more...

...One of the EU's most hotly debated legislative proposals, REACH, enters its critical second-reading phase in Parliament this week. EurActiv looks back at the history of a proposal with origins in a Council meeting almost ten years ago.... more...

...The major OEMs are taking leadership positions in the electronics industry as they form compliance teams to deal with environmental legislation such as RoHS, EuP and REACH. At some OEMs, these groups are forming in the product engineering area, while other large manufacturers are creating corporate sustainability teams that reside closer to the company’s business functions.... more...

...This week sees what looks like the opening of the final chapter of the long-debated chemicals regulation program REACH-regulation, evaluation, and authorization of chemicals-in the European Parliament.... more...

...The leader of the UK Conservative Party, David Cameron, has made a dramatic change in Conservative policy with a commitment to protect people and the environment from harmful man-made chemicals.... more...

...Speaking about REACH will be Robert Donkers, one of the co-authors of the REACH proposal. Since October 2003, he is Environment Counselor at the Delegation of the European Commission to the US... more...

...As the long-running saga to get a new regulatory framework for the chemical industry onto the European statute book enters another key chapter, a frenzy of lobbying is underway. The registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (Reach) legislation is due to receive its second reading in the European Parliament in October, and the parliament's environment committee has been given the responsibility of thrashing out the fine detail of the proposals.... more...