REACHing the workplace

How workers stand to benefit from the new European policy on chemical agents

Tony Musu, European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education and Health and Safety (ETUI-REHS), 36 pages, paperback, 10 Euros

This booklet discusses one of the fiercest political battles in the recent history of the European Union (EU).

In October 2003 the European Commission adopted a proposal to radically recast EU regulations on chemical substances. The reform, known as REACH, sets up a system for the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of 30,000 chemicals in use across the EU.

The booklet, produced by the Trade Union Technical Bureau (now part of ETUI-REHS), the safety arm of the European TUC, argues that European workers stand to benefit enormously from REACH. Approximately one in three occupational diseases recognised annually in Europe can be ascribed to exposure to hazardous chemicals.

However, unions fear that lobbying by the chemical industry and other business interests will water down the proposals. The debate is likely to get more intense and this booklet is a useful guide for trade unionists trying to get to grips with it.