Registration Evaluation Authorization and

Some aspects related to the chemicals regulations are also reviewed, especially those affecting the European new chemicals legislation, such as REACH (regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorizations and restriction of Chemicals). Some socioeconomic aspects are also treated in relation to the need of chemicals for the society. 

In the European Union, a very comprehensive initiative with the aim to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the hazards of chemicals, and to enhance the competitiveness of the EU s chemical industry, is under way. It is referred to as REACIT, which stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals. REACFf places greater responsibility on industry to manage the risk of chemicals and provide appropriate safety information to professional users and, as far as the most hazardous substances, to consumers. New substances need to be registered before they are placed on the market. REACH came in force on June 1, 2007, with a phased implementation over the next decade. There is no doubt that it will affect the UV/EB industry. 

After a period of consultation on its workability, REACH was published as a proposal for a regulation in October 2003 (CEC, 2003a). It was finally agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers in December 2006 (Regulation (EC) 1907/2006, Directive 2006/12/lEC) and came into force in June 2007. The components of REACH — registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions — are outlined below. 

The European system for regulating synthetic chemicals, described in Chapter 5, is predominantly risk-based . This means that restrictions on the manufacture or use of chemicals must be justified by reference to evidence that there is a risk of the chemical causing a specified type of harm. REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals) does not define the term risk , but the directive on risk assessment of new substances defined it as the incidence and severity of the adverse effects likely to occur [...] due to actual or predicted exposure to a substance (Article 2 of Directive 93/67/EEC). In the first part of this chapter I look at how risks from chemicals are assessed. What does chemicals risk assessment in practice aim to achieve Can it provide the reliable evidence needed for agreement by all parties on whether or not a chemical poses a risk My answer to this second question is no there are multiple uncertainties in chemicals risk assessment which lead to protracted debates as to whether a chemical poses a risk or not. 

The European Union has been quite visible in recent years with such directives. RoHS (Restriction in the use of Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment), and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemical substances). RoHS places restrictions on use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and some polybrominated diphenylethers. WEEE targets responsible recycling of electronic equipment. REACH is a new European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use... 

EC 1907/2006). As the name implies, it deals with the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemical substances. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007. The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances.156 The ELV (End of Life Vehicles) directive aims to reduce the amount of environmentally unfriendly waste from ELVs. Similar initiatives are well developed in Japan and are evolving in China157 and many other countries. In the United States, at the state level, some states (for example, Maine and California) are adopting material restrictions on PVC plasticizers and certain brominated FRs. 

REACH Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (EU legislation). 

The most frequently used BFRs are polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). The use of FRs has been growing rapidly in recent years. BFRs are the most often used FRs, and their market is still growing. However, the estimated annual use of OPFRs in Western Europe was almost twice that of all BFRs combined. Many FRs have been banned for use because of their potential toxicity, environmental occurrence, and accumulation in human tissue. FRs taken off the market are likely to be replaced by others. Although the REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals) regulatory system has been introduced in Europe to improve protection of human health and the environment, it is still necessary to monitor FRs in environmental samples [84, 88]. 

In this chapter, we discuss these steps in terms of how assessments are carried out, including estimation methods, and how this information is used to meet the objectives of the TSCA and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). 

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