Toxic in several episodes

The REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) regulation was adopted by the council of Environment Ministers following the vote in second reading of the European Parliament on 13 December 2006.

This regulation comes after the given proof that former regulations were too loose concerning toxic treatment. Of which the Bale convention, signed by 166 States in 1992 (not ratified by Haiti, Afghanistan and the United States) that posed that each States was responsible for his own toxic wastes.

Traffic of toxic waste is very important, estimations show that it is 10 times less expensive to export the waste rather than treat it. The United Nation Program for Environment estimates that industrialized States produces 300 million tons of toxic wastes each year. The Environmental Agency says that India alone receives more that 1 million ton of toxic waste per year. When we know that the average annual sales of the Chemic Industry is estimated to 586 million dollars, the means in stake are considerable.

This is the environment in which the European Commission tried to write the REACH regulation to reglement the industry since 1991 (presentation of the white book on the law project). The most active in this sector are the Germans that have the largest chemical industry.

The Chemicals industry therefore came at work. In 2001, Alan Peroy, Director General of the European Chemical Industry Council wrote in a letter that « Their is little direct evidence of the widespread ill health or ecosystem damage being caused by the use of man-made chemicals » This argument was abandoned in front of the multiplication of opposite proves. Then, the industry tried to create fear over job losses and economic costs, through a study of Arthur D. Little financed by the German Industry Confederation (BDI) estimated that REACH would cause up to 2,35 million job losses in Germany, most of them in the small and medium enterprises. But a counter study showed that very few small and medium enterprises produce toxic substance (0,09%), although they use some, German Advisory Council of the Environment, 2003: On the economic impact of the planned reform of the European chemical policy.

If these strategies did not succeed, how can we explain the normative difficulties of the European commission?

Several senior former officials of the institutions have moved to work for the lobby industry after having left their public positions.

Jean-Paul Mingasson, very active in the lobby campaign against REACH, worked as Director-General of the DG Enterprise and Industry in the European Commission.

Lena Perenius also worked at the DG Enterprise and Industry before moving to CEFIC.

Uta Jensen-Korte after working for Bayer AG and for the lobby CEFIC, she know has a position at the DG Enterprise and Industry.

Ralf Burgstahler how moved from BASF (leader of the industry) and now is in the Ministry for Economic Affairs in 2004, where he is in charge of REACH.

BASF is also implicated in the political and financial scandal, since it owns 24,5% of the North European Gas Pipeline Company were Gerhard Schroeder was appointed president.

The influence of institutional actors of the REACH regulation in the next episode…