Is the Coatings Industry Heading Towards Increased Chemical Regulation in the Wake of the EU’s REACH Regulation

By John Mikan

Europe’s REACH regulation was entered into force in June of 2007. The essence of REACH can be summed up as follows: “The chemical industry must demonstrate substances can be used safely or stop doing business in
Europe.” In effect, REACH has shifted the burden of proof away from the regulatory agencies and placed it directly in the laps of the companies that manufacture and import the substances currently used in products and any substances that may be used in the future. In the U.S., the EPA must go to great lengths to ban a substance from the marketplace.

The burden of proof is on them to demonstrate that substances cannot be produced or used safely and only then can they take regulatory action to ban it. Under REACH, however, the regulation defines the conditions under which substances can be used safely and it is up to manufacturers, including im­porters, to show that their sub­stances meet those conditions or they will be restricted from the mar­ketplace.