Chemicals forum aims for open dialogue
From May 27 to 29, the Helsinki Chemicals Forum creates an opportunity for the international chemical industry to talk with its regulators and consumers. We ask some of the main participants for a sneak preview.
In 2008 the new European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) started hiring in Helsinki. It is tasked with managing the EU regulation known as REACH (registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals), which sets out to protect the consumer and the environment.
Pretty much anything you buy, whether it’s soap, perfume, paint or a computer, will contain a mixture of substances produced in a chemical factory. With over 100,000 chemicals being used in one product or another, how is the consumer kept safe?
Before 2007 safety was a governmental responsibility, but now companies are responsible for demonstrating the safety of their products. If the chemicals are dangerous, ECHA will define limits or even propose bans. The most hazardous chemicals must be phased out – but only if safer alternatives are available – and this is already the subject of disagreement between consumer representatives and industry.
Consumer groups have published a SIN (Substitute It Now) list of over 200 chemicals they want banned now. This list contains many known carcinogens and mutagens. Many companies, such as Nokia, have already moved ahead of regulation and initiated substitution programmes.
Reaching for innovation
So far only 15 of the 267 chemicals on the SIN list have made it onto the EU’s candidate list - the first step under REACH for phasing out dangerous chemicals. Why so few?
ECHA spokesperson Juhani Sormunen explains, “The ECHA does not have the power to ban chemicals itself. Proposals for banning or restricting – for the candidate list – come in from member states and the European Commission. A consultation process involving industry then kicks in, and this might add a further eight months before a chemical makes it onto the list."
Pasi Ahde, an economist with the Finnish Chemical Industry Federation, sees advantages in REACH, one of which resides in increased innovation. “Although the EU still has a world-leading chemical industry, there is always a danger that this lead could slip away,” he says.
"REACH can boost innovation because before this legislation, industry had to test new chemicals but could use older chemicals without restriction, which in effect restricted research into new chemicals. Only 3,000 chemicals have been introduced since 1981. With REACH putting new and old chemicals on an equal cost footing, this should change."
Ahde also names another example of how regulation has led to new products: The paper industry was required to clean up its act some years ago and is now selling purification systems to the general water treatment market.
The Finnish Chemicals Industry Federation will attend the Helsinki Chemicals Forum in late May with a message that is broadly supportive of the new legislation, but with a request that the demanding timeline for registration be extended.
Finland feels like home
On a more human note, the creation of the ECHA has brought several hundred staff to Finland. ECHA press officer Dalia Garaleviciene provides a personal take on what it has been like to move.
"I am Lithuanian, a graduate from the Lithuanian Veterinary Academy," she says. "Before arriving in Finland I worked in Sweden and Belgium. At first it was difficult to handle local correspondence, as the official documents are usually provided only in Finnish and Swedish, but thankfully my Finnish colleagues are always ready to help translate."
"I’m learning Finnish. It is demanding, of course, as the vocabulary is very different and in the beginning it’s necessary to memorise many words by heart. However, I am very optimistic. In Finland, even 3-years-old children speak Finnish fluently, so it must be possible to learn this language! I like Finland; I’ve already found local friends, and I feel at home here."
Finding the right chemistry
In late May, Helsinki Chemicals Forum participants will be getting acquainted with Finland and may even have the chance to learn a few words of Finnish. More significantly, the conference will bring together a variety of stakeholders from all over Europe and give them a chance to air their sometimes competing interests. Representatives from the ECHA, the chemicals industry, human interest groups, nongovernmental organisations, academia and the media will meet under one roof with open dialogue as their goal.
With only 15 of the 267 chemicals on the SIN list making it onto the EU candidate list, people following the conference will be interested to see if consumer interests are being supported or slighted. Helsinki Chemicals Forum and the surrounding media coverage will let Europeans see what steps the recently formed ECHA and other industry players are taking, and consider whether these steps are big enough, and whether they are moves in the right direction.
Text: Richard Scrase, London-based science journalist
REACH explained
- REACH stands for registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals
- The EU chemical industry produces 31 percent of the world’s chemicals and employs 1.7 million people
- One in three occupational diseases in the 15 older EU member states is due to exposure to chemicals
- The European Commission estimates that REACH will cost the industry between 2.8 and 5.2 billion euros over 11 years
- The Commission calculates that REACH would save Europe 54 billion euros over 30 years as fewer people would fall ill from exposure to chemicals
- Any chemical produced or imported in significant quantities has to be tested. The producer or importer pays for this
- Business won’t be able to use "substances of very high concern" (for example substances that cause serious and irreversible effects on humans or the environment) without authorisation from ECHA
Read more:
European Chemicals Agency(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Finnish Chemical Industry Federation(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Helsinki Chemicals Forum(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Substitute It Now(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)