The REACH legislation

The intention is simply to begin on theoretical prevention and the precautionary principle, concepts which are highly complex even for experts in chemical toxicity. We are talking about the biggest and most important exercise in public scrutiny and control of the toxicity of chemical substances that has ever been carried out under the principle of law and under European regulations. The scope of the Regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), passed by the European parliament, is enormous. It runs to almost a thousand pages, covers some 30,000 chemicals that must be registered within the next 11 years, talks of at least a million more substances that will have to be tested on animals, and predicts that it will save billions of euros on healthcare costs. Welcome to the REACH process!