Commission gives positive review to chemicals regulation

Reach, the EU’s regulation on registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals, has made chemical use safer, the European Commission has concluded.

In its review, published yesterday (5 February), the Commission states: “The quality of data available for risk management has significantly improved, resulting in a marked decrease of the nominal risk for the registered substances.”

The review finds that the general terms of Reach should be maintained, but recommends some improvements to its implementation. For instance, it acknowledges that small and medium-sized enterprises find it a burden to conform to Reach requirements. The review proposes to provide more guidance and lowering the fees associated with obtaining authorisation to use chemicals for smaller businesses.