Taking seven years to negotiate, and reckoned to be the most complex legislation ever adopted by the European Union, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals regulation was by far the most comprehensive effort the world has seen to protect human health from dangerous chemicals used in manufacturing.
Over 143,000 chemicals were pre-registered with the European Chemicals Agency before the regulation took effect in December 2010. Not least because the EU is a major importer of foreign products, REACH has transformed manufacturing processes around the world.
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