Economy over safety? Leaked document reveals EU will sideline hazardous chemical reform

18 Oct 2022 --- The European Commission (EC) is set to capitulate to industry demands that it postpone long-awaited plans to enforce a ban on hazardous chemicals such as PFAS, bisphenol and PVC, according to a draft working document leaked from the EC. Major chemical producers say the postponement is necessary given ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. 

The European Environment Bureau (EBB) is decrying the decision and says industry lobbyists have used the energy crisis as a “smokescreen” to force a U-turn away from needed environmental and public health legislation. 

The draft working document, which PackagingInsights has seen and will be finalized today, shows that the EU’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) reforms will be delayed by one year till the fourth quarter of 2023. Critical aspects of the document that pledged action against harmful chemicals have been deleted and replaced with “the aim of securing European competitive advantages.” 

However, with European Parliament elections set for May 2024, the EEB says the delay is “game over” for REACH as it provides insufficient time to implement complex legislation. The organization accuses EC President Von der Leyen of “effectively killing” the reform and striking “a major blow to the European Green Deal.” 

Chemicals used in common packaging can be highly toxic for consumers, says the EEB.Desperate times, desperate measures
Despite criticism from environmental campaigners and researchers, industry players insist the EC’s revision is essential. A spokesperson from the VCI – one of Europe’s largest and most influential chemical corporations – tells us that given the change in the global economic and social situation, “it is now necessary to pause, reflect and consider what activities need to be prioritized.” 

“We advocate postponing European legislative initiatives that place additional burdens on industry competitiveness in the energy crisis,” they say.

“In this regard, diligence, conscientiousness and quality should take precedence over time pressure and speed in the development of CSS (chemicals strategy for sustainability) legislation. It is important to take the time now to examine the impact and practicability of individual measures in more detail.” 

The VCI asserts the EU’s CSS should ultimately be reassessed in order to strengthen the European market and “maintain prosperity.” 

However, the EEB and numerous MEPs dismiss these assertions as a guise for maintaining profits at the cost of human and environmental health. 

Poisonous profits 
In April, the EC announced a blanket ban on six groups of chemicals, collectively totalling over 12,000, which are commonly used in packaging and household products. 

The European Chemical Industry Council acknowledged these chemicals are present in roughly 74% of consumer and professional materials and can have a wide range of toxic effects such as hormone disruption, fertility damage and cancer. 

The chemical industry insists financial concerns surrounding the energy crisis must take precedent.The REACH legislation is partly designed to speed up chemical restrictions that typically take years to enforce. When the EC made a political commitment to implement the measures, the EEB celebrated and said the move would drastically diminish health and climate damage and save billions of dollars in associated costs. 

However, as the European chemical industry has a turnover of €768 billion (US$755 billion) per year and is the fourth-largest industry in the EU, a pushback was expected. 

Tatiana Santos, head of chemicals policy for the EEB, says that while she is surprised at the EC’s U-turn, “it is not new to see delays happening.” She blames the reversal in legislation on pressure from the German chemical industry association (mainly the VCI) and the European Parliament’s main central Consrvative party, the EPP. 

Green Deal betrayal? 
Numerous MEPs rejected a moratorium on REACH and are expressing dismay. MEP Jutta Paulus remarks: “I am shocked to see to what extent the EC is betraying its own commitments in the European Green Deal.” 

“I call on the EC to stick to its promises and deliver on the REACH review in the first quarter of 2023 and on all three pillars as committed to in the context of the CSS. An ambitious REACH revision would create the opportunity to include climate and efficiency aspects in the regulation which are urgently needed in the current crisis.“

Despite bans and restrictions against certain chemicals coming into effect, such as the US PFAS ban and bisphenol restrictions for certain EU products, corporations can simply make minor chemical alterations to circumvent specific laws ad hoc. The REACH legislation is said to be so comprehensive it could effectively prevent any toxic chemicals entering consumer or industrial streams. 

Santos concludes the EC’s broken promise signals that it believes economics must now outweigh health and the environment. 

By Louis Gore-Langton