Revealed: Economic interests – not health concerns – dictate EU chemicals legislation

One would expect that EU chemicals legislation would target chemicals with the highest risk towards humans and nature. Instead, it seems that regulation is very much dictated by economic interests. Today, ChemSec and the FRAM Centre at the University of Gothenburg can show that if member states stand to lose money by the regulation of certain chemicals, these substances are less likely to be passed through the legal bodies of the EU.

Looking back at all chemical propositions for the Candidate List, as well as who proposed them, several things become obvious. The most glaring being that member states avoid proposing substances that play an important economic role within the country’s own borders.

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