” “"Yes, it’s true, I mean to write a novel about the procedure for the approval of the Reach Directive". Guido Sacconi, Italian MEP, is elated by the approval of the regulations on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals, also known as Reach (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals). He confirms to SIR that he intends to "tell about these years of studies, evaluations and political negotiations" as well as the lobbying that went on in Brussels, through to the achievement of "such an important result for the protection of people and the environment" as well as "for the competitiveness of the European economic system". After three years’ meditations at the EU Commission, Council and Parliament, the floor cast 529 votes for, 98 against and 24 abstentions. The regulations will come into force on June 1st 2007 and will be fully operating in 2018: the industry shall have to register all the manufactured and imported chemicals (30 thousand will be monitored), prove they do not pose any hazard, otherwise replace them with different molecules. The priority objective of the directive is "to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment, including the promotion of alternative methods for the assessment of the risks that chemicals may pose".” “
