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On Tuesday 26 October 2004 four subjects will be discussed. For these subjects introduction papers have been prepared. These documents are available for download.
Direct costs and benefits of the REACH proposal for trade and industry,
with a special focus on SMEs. Download the introduction paper
The discussion paper elaborates on the costs that the chemical industry, downstream users and importers have to incur due to REACH.
Indirect costs for industry: Download the paper
In the various studies the highest cost for industry are caused by indirect effects. Producers and importers of substances might decide not to deliver certain substances anymore to their customers because the value of the substance for them is too low compared to the costs to register such a substance. This will cause effects for the downstream users of this substance. Another theme of indirect costs is the time to market of introducing a new chemical substance.
Competitiveness and innovation: Download the paper
REACH is intended to reduce effects on health and the environment, and to improve the competitive position and the innovation power of European trade and industry. The contributions that REACH could make to the Lisbon agenda lie in the effects on the competitiveness of European trade and industry, the realisation of better regulation, the growth of innovative capacity and the improvement of sustainability.
Impact of REACH on society : Download the paper
Relatively little research has been carried out into the impact of REACH on society. The impact of REACH on society consists of benefits and costs for society but it is difficult to quantify these. The main benefits of REACH for society are: a better health for the general public and less damage to the environment. One can more or less quantify a better health, but how do you quantify more biodiversity?
Some of the costs are quantifiable but the larger part of the costs estimations is only qualitative.
