Overview

REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals) was signed into law December 13, 2006 by the European Union (EU). The law will regulate 30,000 of the high volume chemicals of the roughly 100,000 chemicals produced in or imported to the EU.
According to the EU, drawbacks of the current system have been identified and examined. The most important of these are:

• 100,106 existing substances can be used without testing
  
• Burden of proof on public authorities
  
• No efficient instrument to ensure safe use of the most problematic substances
  
• Lack of incentives for innovation, in particular of less hazardous substitutes
  
  
  Topic editor

  Sean Foley

  Lead author

  Sean Foley

  
  

External Links

• International Chemicals Secretariat: REACH
  
• EU Chemicals
  
• EU REACH
  
  
• Q&A on reach
  
• White Paper on the Strategy for a future Chemicals Policy