Chemicals regulation: from European industry to society

"The revision of the chemicals regulation needs to be very well calibrated and strike the right balance between the necessary ambition and the need to avoid irreversible collateral damage on our industrial landscape", Director General Markus J. Beyrer stated at BusinessEurope's conference on the upcoming revision of the EU chemicals legislation. With the participation of Martin Brudermüller, Chief Executive Officer of BASF, the debate underlined that the currently anticipated reform will go far beyond the chemical sector and affect all industries along the value chain. Together with European Commission representatives, trade unions, NGOs and industry, the conference discussed the implications of moving from a risk-based to a hazardous-based chemical policy, the interplay between the REACH (registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals) and OSH (occupational safety and health) legislations and ways to make the 'essential use' concept work. The latter, Beyrer stressed, "could be a valid solution only if applied in a targeted manner, in case of unmanageable proven risks and if no acceptable alternatives exist". - Photos