“The most ambitious chemicals legislation in the world”

The European Chemicals Agency ECHA ensures greater chemical safety in Europe. ECHA Director Björn Hansen explains how this works and what remains to be done in the future.

To what extent does the registration of chemicals with ECHA contribute to chemical safety?

In the European Union (EU), companies are responsible for ensuring that the chemicals they use are safe. They have to register all the chemicals that they produce or import into Europe weighing one ton or more. In the registration documentation they must provide us with information on the properties, the safe usage of these substances and, of course, possible negative effects on the environment and health.

“There are currently more than 22,000 substances registered with us. We publish most of this information on our website, where the world’s largest regulatory database on chemicals is located. Anyone can use it!”

Björn Hansen© ECHA

This is the European Chemicals Agency ECHA

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), based in Helsinki, is an important contact for EU Member States and chemical companies.
It sets priorities in the regulation of chemicals in the European Union.
ECHA committees influence EU chemicals policy by evaluating proposals for bans, reviewing companies’ applications for authorization and issuing opinions.
ECHA determines the safety of chemicals that companies are allowed to produce and distribute within the EU. It evaluates the documentation submitted by companies in terms of its completeness and quality.
The ECHA database lists all chemicals registered in the EU and is available to any individual, government or company in the world.

How is ECHA dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic?
ECHA is committed to ensuring that the chemical industry meets its legal obligations during the COVID 19 pandemic. We are doing this in close cooperation with the European Commission and other EU bodies. And, of course, in compliance with our duty to protect citizens and the environment. We support the countries and companies of the EU and the European Economic Area in increasing the production and supply of disinfectants on the European market.

What other effects does the corona pandemic have on your work?
We understand that companies may currently lack the human or financial resources to meet certain deadlines that affect our decisions or they may face technical difficulties. ECHA has therefore decided to extend a number of deadlines.

The REACH chemicals regulation has been in force since 2007. What do you see as its main achievements and challenges?
We now know more about the chemicals used in the EU than ever before. We also have the most ambitious chemicals regulation in the world, which is used as a benchmark by other countries. This is a clear success. However, when we examine the registration documentation, we find that many do not meet all the requirements. When we approach these companies during our decision-making processes, though, most of them make the necessary changes to ensure their documentation complies with our regulatory conditions. To counter possible chemical hazards, we need to speed up the risk management of chemicals and carry out more group assessments. In this way, we can guarantee that the most dangerous substances are regulated efficiently.

“We now know more about the chemicals used in the EU than ever before.”

What tasks remain to be mastered in terms of chemical safety and a climate-neutral EU?
The EU’s Green Deal has made it clear that chemicals play a key role in fulfilling Europe’s ambitious political agenda. For example, a closed loop (Alt.: circular) economy can only be achieved by using the appropriate sustainable chemicals to make materials recyclable and to avoid negative impacts on health and the environment. Our priorities are to deal with the most dangerous chemicals, manage their risks and ensure that safe chemicals remain as solutions to help achieve the Green Deal.

ECHA Director Björn Hansen, a European through and through

Since 2018, the mathematician Björn Hansen has been head of the European Chemicals Agency ECHA. After working as a scientist in Göttingen, Germany, and Eindhoven, the Netherlands, he joined the European Commission in 1991as Head of the Chemicals Unit of the Directorate-General Environment in Belgium, among other responsibilities. Hansen was involved in the development of the European Chemicals Regulation REACH from its inception. REACH stands for “Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals”. The REACH regulation has been in force since 2007 and Hansen’s international involvement includes leading a number of multilateral contact groups at three UN climate conferences.