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Chemicals Policy in Europe

• This page focuses on the 27 countries within Europe that are members of the European Union. The Non-EU Europe page discusses other European countries.

The European Union (EU) has a population of around 495 million, and is made up of 27 Member States (countries) who have decided to standardize many aspects of their regulatory and other systems. This standardization is particularly strong for the regulations that govern traded goods, such as chemicals. For more information on the EU, and how EU regulations are drafted and agreed, see the What is the EU? page.

The EU produces around 33% of the world's chemicals (by sales), and has the largest chemical industry in the world. The EU has a long history of chemicals policy, going back to the late 1960s, and most aspects of chemicals regulation are defined at EU level, rather than within individual countries. This page, and the ones that follow it, cover the following issues:

• The developments before REACH current system for regulating the production and use of chemicals in Europe
• The new 'REACH' system for chemicals regulation
• A brief outline of other areas of EU regulation that are linked to chemicals policy

Developments Before REACH For Chemicals Policy in Europe

Since the 1960s the EU has had regulations for issues covering chemical substances and preparations made and sold in the EU. They covered:

• classification and labelling
• restrictions on marketing (including bans)
• data requirements for new chemicals
• a (slow) process to examine the safety of older chemicals.

After a review in the 1990s it was found that the policy inhibited the development of new chemicals as existing chemicals (placed on a register in 1981) did not need testing whereas new chemical entities required testing. The process for evaluating chemical hazards and risk control measures was extremely slow and left in the lap of the administrations rather than the chemicals industry. However much of the information provided from the implementation of these regulations will be useful as a basis for beginning to comply with REACH.

REACH — A New Approach to Chemicals Policy in Europe

In 1998 it was decided that the EU chemicals regulatory system needed reform. A long process of analysis and discussion resulted in a proposed new system, called REACH - Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals.

REACH is the first regulatory system for chemicals that will actually remove the distinction between older chemicals and new ones, and it also includes new mechanisms for controlling chemical use and for communicating information on chemical properties & safe uses.

The REACH regulation has now been adopted and the implementation arrangements, practical guidance and timetables are being put in place. The whole process will take a decade or so for compliance to be achieved. For more details, see the REACH page and the pages that follow it.

The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production has also produced a free briefing which explains REACH in more detail.

Other Relevant Policies and Regulation

A number of other EU policies are closely related to chemicals policy, for example because they need information on chemical properties, or they cover specific groups of chemicals or products. For example:

• The regulatory systems for pesticides, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and biocides
• The control of emissions from industrial plants through integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC)
• Worker health regulations, Emergency planning regulations
• Product regulation, including eco-labelling and regulation of chemicals in electrical goods.

A brief overview of these policies is available on the other EU policies page.

Many of the regulations in this area relied on the classification of chemicals under the old EU system. At the very least they will have to be amended to reflect the new legal references (in REACH and potentially in the forthcoming EU regulation implementing the GHS). However as a result of implementing REACH, new information on chemical hazards and risk control measure may come to light that will have an impact on the practical implementation of other EU regulation.