Caution and scepticism
According to Polish estimates, Reach regulations might encourage big chemical companies to downsize employment by as much as 3 percent, but SMEs might be forced to face cuts as large as 30 percent. The EC, on the other hand, has claimed that an estimated EUR 50 billion (as a result of Reach implementation) in healthcare savings will far outweigh the losses suffered by the chemical industry sector. For their part, green organisations share neither the industry's concerns nor the EC's optimism.
"We lost a chance for the first-ever European legislation that would have made the industry responsible for its products. Both consumers and the environment will suffer," said WWF Poland's Dariusz Sredzinski.
The chemical industry, however, is both cautious and sceptical about the Reach document, even in a form weaker than originally envisaged. The industry's European body, Cefic, claimed that the obligation for safer substitution of most dangerous substances is both a "costly and bureaucratic requirement" and an "illusion," as finding replacements for substances in question cannot be "operated by a regulation."
Other industry groups, such as employers' association Unice, metals association Eurometaux and manufacturing trade association Orgalime, are echoing Cefic's reservations.
"Substitution does not automatically represent the best option in terms of safety, functionality or overall environment performance of a product [...], and we have yet to be convinced that the provisions on substances in articles will be enforceable and workable in practice," said Orgalime's Adrian Harris, according to ENDS Europe Daily.
