The Need For Speed – Executive Summary

This is the brief of The Need for Speed – Why it takes the EU a decade to control harmful chemicals and how to secure more rapid protections report, which examines EU’s current chemical regulations to find out why it takes authorities over a decade to stop hazardous chemicals from being used dangerously in Europe. The report looks at 1,109 chemical dossiers and how long it took these to pass through the two main EU chemical regulations since 2007, or remain pending. The findings reveal that, from the start, the EU laws pressure authorities to allow chemicals on the market within just three weeks without even a basic understanding of their hazards. It then takes concerned officials around a decade to gain accurate data and build cases for control measures, a process industry regularly challenges in court.

Based on the findings, the  EEB policy experts provide recommendations on how to fix these issues in view of the upcoming REACH and CLP legal reforms.