Governments have agreed to increase the minimum compliance check target for chemicals registration dossiers from 5% to 20%. This is the first concrete legislative step following reports of widespread flouting of EU rules.
Because of earlier revelations that the majority of dossiers submitted by chemicals firms do not comply with the REACH regulation covering the bulk of substances used in the EU, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) was called before the European Parliament’s environment committee.
The decision to increase the rate of compliance checks is the first step in an action plan agreed between ECHA and the European Commission. Further measures include a simplification of decision-making procedures and an assessment, by the end of 2020, of the effectiveness of enforcement measures.
The new minimum target means ECHA must aim to check 20% of dossiers relating to high-volume chemicals – where over 100 tonnes are imported or used in the EU annually – by 2023. For chemicals used in volumes from 1-100 tonnes, the deadline is 2027.
Source: ENDS Europe