BRUSSELS – Of the roughly 3,500 chemicals put on the European market since 1981, 70% are known to possess dangerous properties. All of those have been tested, but they make up just a fraction of the chemicals available. Of the overall number of chemicals – estimates range from 30,000 to 70,000 – just 3% have been tested for possible carcinogens. Meanwhile, no test data exist for 15% of them.
This is the bleak picture of the state of the European chemical industry, according to Robert Donkers, counselor for environmental affairs at the European Commission Delegation.
Speaking Wednesday via a Web broadcast, Donkers explained ins and outs of administering a common set of test standards for the vast arsenal of chemicals covered by the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) legislation pending in Europe.
The three-part mandate, as Donkers explained, is to protect human health and the environment while somehow keeping the industry afloat in the process. His talk stressed the importance of the pending legislation and how it affects all regions, not just Europe.
REACH proposes the registration of substances of high concern, defined as carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, mutagens, persistent and bioaccumulative toxicants manufactured or imported in cumulative amounts of 1 metric tonne or more per year. The proposal calls for “notification of substances of very high concern if present above a concentration limit of 0.1% and exposure of the public or the environment during the full lifecycle cannot be excluded,” Donkers said.
The impact on electronics assemblers could be difficult to quantify. Besides simply knowing the contents and potential hazards of raw chemicals, the processing of materials could create hazardous byproducts. “It is good to understand flux composition and substances released in reflow because they could be subject to authorization,” added Design Chain Associates president Mike Kirschner, who co-presented with Donkers.
Why is REACH necessary? Says Donkers, “The burden of proof lies with public health authorities. We need a new system to bring back confidence in chemicals.”
In addition to setting classification and labeling regulations, the proposed law establishes the European Chemical Agency, which will be headquartered in Helsinki, to administer the regulations. However, Donkers said, the ECA will target only select substances that are intentionally released. Nor is REACH is a testing program; its supporters believe testing should be a last resort.
The ink is not dry yet on legislation requiring certain designated chemicals to be registered (“one chemical, one registration,” according to Donkers), but discussions are underway between the European Council of Ministers and European Parliament and likely will wrap by the end of 2006. Donkers’ expectation is that all versions of new rules will be available next spring in every country in Europe.
Donkers stresses that the objective of REACH is to ultimately find substitutions for high-risk substances, which would not be legal without authorization. Grants for authorization would depend on adequate controls, socioeconomic cost-benefit analysis and thorough analysis of substitutes.
Provided the pending REACH legislation is ratified, it is expected implementation projects will be effective as of June 2007.
“Study closely the substances in your products,” Donkers emphasized. “Start now. Don’t wait. Keep the communication lines open with your clients in Europe.”
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