A new report by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) summarises and aggregates the benefits to human health and the environment, as well as the costs, associated with REACH restriction dossiers and the opinions of ECHA’s Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC).
Restrictions under REACH, protect human health and the environment from unacceptable risks posed by chemicals. The restrictions can either limit the manufacturing and use of chemicals or impose a ban on their placement on the EU market. They can also be used to control imports of the chemicals from other parts of the world. The analyses within the report indicates that restricting the use of hazardous chemicals under REACH generates at least four times more benefits to society than what they cost, including health benefits worth around €2.1 billion each year over the next decades.