[Pharmwaste] The start of something big - REACH in the European Union

[DeBiasi,Deborah]

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es803484p

The start of something big
Maria Burke 
Environ. Sci. Technol., Article ASAP 
DOI: 10.1021/es803484p 
Publication Date (Web): December 24, 2008 
Copyright © 2008 American Chemical Society 
The EU’s long-debated chemicals legislation, known as the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), is finally under way. In the first stage of the process, the European Chemicals Agency <http://echa.europa.eu>  (ECHA) has published a candidate list of 15 “substances of very high concern”; this list is intended to flag the chemicals most dangerous to consumers and to spur the development of safer replacements. 
The legislation allows European consumers to ask retailers whether any products on store shelves contain the 15 chemicals. Manufacturers are obligated to inform consumers within 45 days of the inquiry whether such chemicals are present in the products on sale in the EU market. Chemical manufacturers are also obliged to tell downstream usersother companies that buy or use these chemicalsthat these substances have been identified as being of very high concern. 
In a further step forward, any company that failed by December 1, 2008, to preregister any chemical will be in violation of EU law if it makes or imports that substance after the deadline. Companies that preregister their chemicals buy themselves more time before they have to seek full registrationup to December 2010 if they make more than 1000 metric tons of a substance. Full registration requires the producer to report complete health and safety information. From preregistration data, ECHA can create a picture of the number and quantity of chemicals in use. 
The effects of REACH are extending well outside the EU. “The U.S. chemical industry resisted REACH to begin with, but now REACH requirements are spreading through the global supply chains of chemical companies, becoming embedded in their strategies and processes, and reaching beyond the EU,” says Daryl Ditz <http://www.ciel.org/Staff/ditz.html> , a senior policy adviser at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for International Environmental Law, a nonprofit organization. Although the Bush Administration’s policy may have been hostile to REACH, U.S. chemical companies have no choice but to get on board with REACH if they want to continue to do business in the EU, Ditz adds. 
The candidate list <http://echa.europa.eu/chem_data/candidate_list_en.asp>  is the first step in a long process. The 15 substances, officially published on October 28, 2008, are either carcinogenic; very persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT); or toxic to reproduction. The list includes three phthalates: bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, and benzyl butyl phthalate; and the brominated flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane. Chemicals on the list are potentially subject to the authorization process under REACH. Once included on the authorization list, substances cannot be placed on the market or used after a so-called sunset date unless the company is granted an authorization. Authorizations may be granted for certain users or exposures, for example. The first set of chemicals subject to authorization is due to be published in the fall of 2009. 
The candidate list provides an early warning system to chemical users and the public, Ditz says. “The list could influence business decisions even before authorizations or restrictions. For example, retailers such as the clothing company H&M are paying close attention to the list, as they have a duty to tell their customers what’s in their merchandise,” he adds. 
But officials with environmental, health, and consumer groups across Europe stress that the 15 chemicals on the list are merely a drop in the ocean compared with the hundreds of well-known dangerous substances present in products used every day. “The candidate list was supposed to be very long because the second stagethe authorization listwould be limited by resources and time, with the ECHA only managing to work on 10−20 substances a year,” explains Ninja Reineke, head of the toxics program at WWF Europe <http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/what_we_do/wwf_europe_environment/initiatives/chemicals/index.cfm> , an environmental organization. “It is outrageous that the authorities did not take a more coherent approach to listing known carcinogens or PBT chemicals, which have already been researched by EU bodies.” 
Geert Dancet, the executive director of ECHA, has defended the list’s length, citing new administrative procedures and scarce resources. He added that ECHA will add to the list at least once a year. 
This is not enough for a coalition of public interest groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which published a list of its owndubbed the “SIN” (Substitute It Now) list <http://www.sinlist.org> in September 2008, naming 267 substances that meet the REACH criteria. They included the phthalates DINP, DiDP, and DNOP and bisphenol A, a well-known endocrine disrupter. NGOs are now focusing their efforts on lobbying EU member states to propose more chemicals for the list. 
Ditz, who was involved in developing the SIN list, notes that the NGOs’ efforts to accelerate the candidate list have found allies in the business world, such as Dell Computer and Sony Ericsson, the mobile phone manufacturer. “They want to make decisions about their products now and don’t want to be surprised every year or so with a new crop of chemicals to worry about,” he explains.


Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email:   dldebiasi at deq.virginia.gov
WEB site address:  www.deq.virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Permit Programs
Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents
Mail:          P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA  23218 (NEW!)
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