Chemical industry gets EU boost

IRELAND succeeded in its drive to make new chemicals legislation more industry-friendly at a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels yesterday.

The REACH legislation will ensure most chemicals in everyday use from shampoos and air fresheners to those in cars and computers are tested for their safety to health and the environment.

Junior Minister, Tony Killeen, warned that investment in the chemical and IT industry might be jeopardised by the insistence that hazardous substances be replaced by safer ones.