The regulation of hazardous chemicals is once again at the centre of the European agenda. On 25 June, EU Environment Ministers will meet to discuss the future of the REACH Regulation, the EU’s main framework for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. Ahead of this meeting, we have joined the letter led by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), which calls for health protection to remain at the heart of any reform of the legislation.
REACH sets the rules for identifying and limiting the risks associated with thousands of substances present in everyday products and requires companies to demonstrate that the chemicals they manufacture or market are safe for people and the environment.
The European Commission has announced that the long-expected revision of REACH via ordinary legislative procedure will not be undertaken during this mandate, delaying the adoption of new measures to reduce people’s exposure to harmful chemicals. Scientific evidence links such exposure to a wide range of health conditions, including different types of cancer, neurological, metabolic and endocrine disorders, allergies, and other acute and chronic health effects.
We support the priorities put forward by HEAL for the modernisation of REACH, including addressing the issue of chemical mixtures, ensuring the swift restriction of the most hazardous chemicals, and improving the mapping and assessment of the universe of polymers through more effective authorisation processes.
We trust that Spain will maintain an ambitious position at the upcoming Council and support measures to modernise REACH and its implementation in ways that strengthen its effectiveness in protecting people’s health, in line with the 2023 WHO Budapest Ministerial Declaration and roadmap.
