REACH revision delay: Industry calls for regulations for consumer and planetary health

18 Nov 2022 --- The European Commission (EC) announced a few weeks ago that revising the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) regulation would be postponed. The revision is now scheduled for the final quarter of 2023 rather than early next year. The revisions that are currently ongoing are also expected to impact the personal care space by improving product safety and chemical regulations.

“We will propose a targeted revision of the legislation on REACH to secure European competitive advantages and innovation by promoting sustainable chemicals, simplifying and streamlining the regulatory process, reducing the burden and protecting human health and the environment,” an EC spokesperson, tells PersonalCareInsights.

“The revision of REACH is an opportunity to continue reducing exposure to the most harmful substances and to support the development of safe and sustainable chemicals,” a spokesperson at European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) also tells PersonalCareInsights.

While Europe plays a leading role in safe and environmentally sustainable chemicals, the revision of REACH can accelerate this transition while enabling innovative solutions by the industry.

This revision of this important legislation requires thorough preparation and consultation to ensure that it is developed in a way that achieves higher protection for health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and supports the EU’s competitiveness, the EC spokesperson details.

“It is also the best remedy against increasing our dependence on chemicals produced in the rest of the world,” they say.

Impact of the revision on personal care
Regarding the impact that the REACH revisions will have on the personal care industry and its consumers, the Cefic spokesperson continues to detail: “There are three main EU regulations that apply one way or another to personal care products: the Cosmetics Regulation, the REACH Regulation and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation for ingredients.”

“They are all under revision currently and we do not have sufficient details to assess the potential impact.”

According to Cefic’s spokesperson, the revision needs to reflect advancements in risk, predictive toxicology and alternatives to animal testing.Providing insight into whether or not the REACH revision can secure progressive chemical regulation in Europe, the Cefic spokesperson explains that REACH is already considered the world’s leading chemicals management system and, in many ways, has an ambitious and breakthrough approach to chemicals management.

“Yet we know more can be done in terms of simplifying certain procedures, improving coherence with other legislation, giving more space to non-animal methods for chemical safety assessment and better enforcement,” they add.

Detrimental delay?
According to ChemSec, there is a concern as to whether the European Parliament will have enough time to complete the REACH revision before the election of a new EU Commission in 2024.

This is significant because the current Commission must complete the revision to ensure compliance with the European Green Deal and its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.

Member States and the European Parliament have expressed strong and unequivocal support for the REACH revision to proceed during the current EU Commission’s mandate.

According to the EC spokesperson, they are finalizing the impact assessment, consultations with key stakeholders and working on solid input for the Regulatory Scrutiny Board.

The REACH revision may accelerate the EC’s green transition to tackle the climate crisis.“Once this file is ready, we will not hesitate to present it to the European Parliament and the Council.”

While the work on the targeted revision of REACH is ongoing, the EC keeps working to ensure chemical safety through the current rules.

The European Green Deal
The revision is also an opportunity to streamline and simplify particular parts of REACH to direct regulatory action to where it is justified and where it matters most, the Cefic spokesperson explains.

“Our industry supports the European Green Deal goals. This also means our chemical industry will go through a ‘double twin’ transition, to go climate neutral, circular and digital while implementing safe and sustainable chemicals.”

“We are therefore calling for regulatory actions that bring the most benefits to health and the environment to be prioritized, keeping the regulatory framework as stable as possible and maintaining the coherence of REACH with all other pieces of EU legislation should be the guiding principles of the revision.”

Similarly, the EC spokesperson explains that accelerating the EC’s green transition is essential to tackle the climate crisis and to strengthen our economies, security and resilience.

The European Green Deal remains Europe’s growth strategy. “In this context, our determination to work toward a toxic-free environment remains unchanged and the EC stands by our commitment to revise the chemicals legislation.”

Phasing out harmful chemicals
Cefic’s spokesperson maintains that advances in risk assessment methods, human and environmental monitoring, predictive toxicology and alternatives to animal testing need to be reflected in this revision in line with scientific progress.

“These methods can accelerate innovation into new chemicals as they help identify potential red flags from the start before a new chemical becomes commercial.”

“We understand the Commission intends to prioritize regulatory action on endocrine disruptors, as well as persistent, bioaccumulative and mobile substances that can have negative impacts if released into the environment.”

However, this has yet to be confirmed formally at this stage and other categories of hazards will follow, creating important uncertainty for the industry on what to focus on. The personal care industry is best placed to comment on if and how this would affect products, the Cefic spokesperson concludes.

By Nicole Bea Kerr