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1 June, 2009
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) continues to work closely with the EU to implement the Registration, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. ETUC pro-actively submitted a list of 306 chemicals of high concern to workers for inclusion on a candidate list of substances for authorisation under REACH rules.
The list was derived from a list of dangerous chemicals identified by the European Risk Ranking Method (EURAM). A total of 191 of those 306 chemicals are proven to have caused industrial diseases. ETUC’s methodology is aimed at encouraging industry to develop safer substances in a competitive manner, with maximum protection of workers, consumers, and the environment.
In releasing the list in recent months, ETUC is hopeful the 306 substances will be clearly identified for professional users, particularly those who work with these chemicals, and that more information will be generated on them so that safer alternatives can be developed.