Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-11-Speech-1-107"
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"en.20061211.14.1-107"2
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"Mr President, after nearly four years and thousands of amendments, REACH is finally a reality. All credit, of course, to our rapporteur, Mr Sacconi, who has managed to bring all this to a very good end. The result is something we can be proud of.
Replacement has become one of the REACH objectives. REACH is not just about knowledge of thousands of chemical substances, but also about the replacement of 2 500 dangerous substances. It is high time dangerous substances, over which there is much disquiet, were finally prohibited. The increase in the number of cancer patients, allergies and fertility problems in humans and animals are associated with dangerous substances. The vast majority of people working in the chemical industry are doing everything they can to exercise utmost care when dealing with dangerous substances, but it does not, unfortunately, go without saying that everyone will do so.
Of course, I have sympathy for industry’s view that replacement cannot be done overnight. It is a good thing that the new agreement allows for a little more flexibility. It is now being examined on a case-by-case basis how long a licence for a dangerous substance can last. This is progress for producers. A study plan must be drafted in order to develop safe alternatives that benefit the environment as well as innovation. It will be an enormous challenge, in the next few years, to remove the most dangerous substances from the production process and from products.
REACH has brought about this innovation that benefits both our competitiveness and the environment. Everything, of course, now hinges on effective implementation and what matters is to ensure that the small and medium-sized companies can be part of the change.
A first review is planned in seven years’ time, at which point we will be able to examine whether it is still possible to include more substances within the scope of REACH, and we will be able to consider whether the hormone deregulating substances can still be included within the scope of replacement regimes. That is when, hopefully, care duty will also be given the necessary attention and when information duty to employees and consumers can be further improved. Until such time, this is what we will have to work with, and I think an excellent compromise has been brokered."@en1
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