Law takes aim at dangerous chemicals

EUROPEAN companies that import, manufacturer or use chemicals will have to ensure they are safe.

The Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) directive was finally agreed at talks in Brussels just before midnight on Wednesday. Industry, environmental groups and governments have spent seven years battling over the legislation, which is designed to protect people and the environment.

Most politicians have praised the deal as a breakthrough for consumers and workers, but green activists say it is a dangerous compromise. They say it will allow cancer-causing and hormone-disrupting chemicals to remain in use even when there are safer alternatives.