Chemicals: Commission modifies legislative plans after successful consultation 

The proposals for a draft Regulation that are now being debated internally (for likely adoption at the end of October) demonstrate that the participants in the stakeholder consultation had a real impact on the final outcome of the future legislation. The Consultation Document from May 2003 was revised in several areas. The most important changes are the following:

Scope of the system:

• Polymers have been exempted from registration, but may still be subject to authorisation and restriction; the Commission can amend this provision once sound scientific criteria have been developed to define which polymers should be registrered;
• The requirements for substances in articles have been watered down;
• The requirement to undertake chemical safety assessments has been considerably reduced;

Legal certainty

• The "duty of care" provision for industry has been more clearly defined as companies feared they would be confronted with open-ended liability claims;
• The European Chemicals Agency (to be set up) will have a Board of Appeal;

Costs

• For downstream users, the obligation to undertake chemical safety assessments and produce chemical safety reports has been strictly limited;
• Registration obligations for production of 1-10 tonnes have been simplified;
• Intermediates transported under strict control face less severe requirements;

Bureaucracy / Powers of the Agency

• Streamlined legislation: the Agency will be the sole responsible;
• Evaluation: the Agency has more and clearer responsibility;
• The system of chemicals safety reports has been better coordinated with the existing system of safety data sheets;
• The Agency will have more powers as to decisions on data sharing, R&D exemptions and confidentiality;

Confidentiality

• Stricter protection for sensitive and confidential business information ; all information that is non-confidential will be available on request;

Substitution

• Stronger provision for substitution: companies will be encouraged to present substi tution plans; this may influence decisions on authorisations;

Animal testing

• No increased animal testing.

Together with the legislative proposals, the Commission will present a new impact assessment, which will, according to sources in the Commission, be more accurate than the industry studies prepared in France and Germany.

 

TheWWF European PolicyOffice reacted with clear frustration to the leaked proposals. In a press release from 23 September, Dr Michael Warhurst of WWF stated: "It is clear that the Commission has spent the summer chopping huge chunks out of the REACH legislation, and the result is a much weakened proposal". WWF, Greenpeace, and the European Environmental Bureau will present their official reaction in a press conference on Thursday 25 September.