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New Euro Rules Spur Change in US

The European Union is developing tougher new rules for determining the safety of chemicals used in everyday products – and the consequences are being felt all the way on the other side of the Atlantic.

As the EU prepares to set in motion a new system for regulating and registering toxic chemicals, American manufacturers are scrambling to find cleaner raw materials for their products – even though the new rules won’t change the way chemicals are regulated in the U.S. Why? They’ll have to, if they hope to sell their products overseas, or remain competitive in a global market.

The EU’s program, called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals) will require companies to register the chemicals they make or use in their products, along with basic safety and exposure information, in a central database. Under the new rules, existing products won’t be grandfathered in.

That has American companies searching for less toxic raw materials for their products as well. Already, Hewlett Packard, Intel and Apple are dedicating resources toward this end.

The new rules were developed in response to studies that found toxic chemicals used in products such as flame retardants were finding their way into human blood and breast milk. Research links many of the chemicals found in common household products with cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption and nervous system disorders.

In the United States, little toxicity data exists for more than 95 percent of the chemicals currently in use. But that could soon change – thanks to what’s happening an ocean away.

For more information on this story, click here.

For more information on REACH, go to click here.

To access World Wildlife Fund’s December 2004 report, “The Reach Files: APolicy Guide”, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org