Industry impact assessment shows REACH effects ‘manageable’

A long-awaited industry-backed impact assessment of the EU’s proposed Regulation on the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (REACH) has surprisingly downplayed many of industry’s fears about substances being withdrawn, de-localisation of industry and effects on downstream users. Legislators, NGOs and even industry groups now say the time for hurling hyperbole over costs is over. But the battle over the detail of REACH is now under way in earnest.