Chemical assessment reform proposal

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Chemical assessment reform proposal – On December 7, the European Commission presented the ‘One substance, one assessment’ package of three legal acts in the field of chemical policy. Four EU agencies play a key role in this. It involves a more uniform, ‘sharper’ assessment, more knowledge and better early risk detection.

With the presented package, the European Commission wants to ensure that ‘better prevention through improved management of chemicals’ is possible. The Brussels authority plans to streamline chemical assessments in EU legislation, strengthen the chemical knowledge base and ensure early detection and action against emerging chemical risks.

Closer cooperation between authorities is required

To this end, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) should cooperate more closely and consolidate their methods. This should include the introduction of a common data platform and a single point of contact for access to data on chemicals. In addition, human biomonitoring data generated in the EU – for example chemical levels in blood or breast milk – should be collected systematically to better assess the extent of chemical exposure of EU citizens. A monitoring and early warning system should be established so that pollution can be quickly identified and avoided. Last but not least, the European Commission is in favor of ‘guaranteeing the transparency of scientific studies on chemicals, including studies commissioned by companies’.

The package consists of two proposed regulations, a directive and a report:

• Proposal for a regulation establishing a common data platform for chemicals.
• Proposal for a regulation redistributing scientific and technical tasks and improving cooperation between Union agencies in the field of chemicals.
• Proposal for a directive on the transfer of scientific and technical tasks to the European Chemicals Agency.
• Report from the Commission on the results of the review of the RoHS Directive, summarizing the main assessment results and proposed actions.

The actual planned revision of the EU chemicals regulation REACH is still pending.

Also read: Commission proposes chemical assessment reform “One substance, one assessment” […] 

Source: Deutscher Naturschutzring (DNR)
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