EU's REACH law enters into force amid controversy[fr][de] 

Approved by Parliament and Council in December 2006, REACH requires that a large number of chemical substances, from industrial- to household-use substances, go through a health and safety screening and registration process over an 11-year period. 

The European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, which is conducting the screening process, becomes operational on 1 June 2007 and will begin accepting the first registrations one year later. 

It will take at least three to four years before the first substances are registered or, if they are considered too dangerous, replaced by less toxic substances.

Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, released a statement saying that: "It would be unrealistic of anyone to expect all aspects of REACH to work perfectly from 'Day 1' but that cannot be an excuse – we have to make it work and that will require joint efforts of the industry, the Commission, the new European Chemicals Agency and the national competent authorities to find solutions to problems as they arise and to ensure that learning and good practice is quickly shared."

Cefic has set up a special consulting service to help companies with compliance. Other industry groups, such as the UK Chemical Industries Association (CIA) and the German chemicals company BASF have also established special compliance services.

ETUC, the European Trade Union Confederation, welcomed the advances of REACH with respect to the regulation of chemicals, but lamented that provisions on the information of impacts of chemicals on workers' safety apply to only one third of substances originally proposed.  

The Danish Environmental Assessment Institute (IMV) has released a report on the issue of authorising certain chemicals on the basis of socio-economic analyses: REACH contains a provision that allows authorisation of certain chemicals if it can be proven that the socio-economic benefits of the chemical outweigh its health or environmental risks. IMV warns that it will be "a major challenge to make sure that balanced and well-informed socio-economic analyses are produced", and questions whether industries, competent authorities and NGOs possess the tools necessary to produce reliable assessments.

In an open letter of 25 May 2007 to EU Commissioners, a coalition of EU environmental NGOs, including  Friends of the Earth Europe, WWF and the European Environment Bureau, state that "it is far too early to celebrate" REACH since the regulation has "flaws and loopholes and is vulnerable to further weakening in the future". The coalition is particularly concerned about pending reviews that may permit the use of hazardous chemicals that cause disruptions to the endochrine system.

In related news, Greenpeace on 29 May sent final comments to the European Ombudsman concerning its 'Toxic Lobby' complaint against the Commission. Greenpeace has complained that the Commission adopted a "revolving door" policy, whereby "certain individuals were in close succession employed by the chemical industry and by the European Commission to work on REACH." The Commission has denied this claim.

EurActiv France has published a number of reactions on REACH from French stakeholders. The French Chemical Industries Union (UIC), for example, has voiced concern about a "bureaucratic surcharge" that will harm their industries on a global scale, while Greenpeace France called REACH the "most ambitious and most important" regulation of the past 20 years.