13/09/2005 - WWF, the European
Public Health Alliance – Environment Network
and Friends of the Earth Europe, believe the
amendments to REACH passed today in European
Parliament internal market and industry committees
would, if not rejected by the Environment
committee, derail the REACH project and result
in a return to the failed ‘status quo’, where
most chemicals in use are not assessed for
safety.
A REACH in this form would do almost nothing
to improve protection for public health, workers,
consumers, and the environment from the growing
levels of toxic chemicals in our daily lives.
"The amendments adopted today would
fatally undermine the basic principle of REACH:
to identify from full safety data which chemicals
are hazardous and need to be phased out of
our daily environment", said WWF DetoX
Campaign Director, Karl Wagner.
The NGOs recognise there has been intense
industry pressure on MEPs similar to that
exerted two years ago on the Commission, which
resulted in a watered down Commission proposal
on REACH, the new EU chemical legislation.
Members of the two parliamentary committees
today voted in favour of improving the short-term
profits of the chemical industry and removing
their responsibility for the safety of their
own products, at the expense of protecting
public health, workers, consumers, and the
environment from hazardous chemicals.
And those whose health is most vulnerable
are pregnant mothers, babies, children and
the elderly.
Downstream user companies will also be disadvantaged,
as they will not have the information they
need to make informed decisions about which
are the best chemicals to use in their products.
If REACH is to live up to its original goal
- the need to ensure improved protection of
the environment and health whilst maintaining
EU competitiveness - it is essential that
on the 4th October the members of the Environment
and Public Health Committee overturn today’s
vote and ensure that the environment and human
health are given the protection from industrial
chemicals they deserve.
