European Commission following REACH
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani and Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik visited the European Chemicals Agency March 25 and met with stakeholders in advance of Nov. 30 REACH deadline for registration of chemicals manufactured or imported in volumes equal to or greater than 1,000 tons annually, as well as CMR substances, or those identified as potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic. Chemicals management is of "very high concern," and finding solutions to practical problems - particularly issues that make the process difficult for small and medium enterprises - is a priority, EC leaders indicate. A Directors Contact Group has been devised to monitor industry's progress. "REACH ensures a high level of protection of human health and the environment while also playing an important role to encourage innovation, foster competitiveness and better enable enterprises [to] meet essential demands of consumers," states Tajani. Geert Dancet, executive director of ECHA, says EC chiefs' active involvement "signals that the Commission and ECHA stand side-by-side in making REACH work." ECHA and EC have agreed to expand "candidate list" for substances of very high concern from 29 to 106 substances by 2012. The agency's first progress report includes recommendations for the improvement of registration dossiers (1"The Rose Sheet" March 29, 2010)