The European Parliament on Thursday approved legislation requiring safety testing of thousands of compounds widely used in everyday products, endorsing a policy that would overhaul how the public was protected from toxic chemicals.
The regulation, if approved by a council of Europe's national governments, would force industries worldwide to test their chemicals for effects on human health and the environment. It would be the world's strictest standard, eclipsing U.S. laws, and could lead to global bans on some compounds.
Chemicals found in a variety of products -- such as computers, cosmetics, cars, furniture, detergent and pesticides -- would have to undergo basic toxicity testing. Those used in the largest volumes would be subjected to more rigorous testing.
Called Reach, or Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, the law could cost American industries that export products to Europe billions of dollars. The Bush administration and the U.S. chemical industry teamed to fight the European Union's proposal, calling it unworkable and excessive.
"If enacted, manufacturers and consumer product companies from Boston to Bombay that use essential chemical products would be impacted by this misguided scheme," said Jack N. Gerard, president and chief executive of the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry trade group.
Under current U.S. and EU laws, most chemicals -- those that were used before 1981 in Europe and 1976 in the United States -- are not required to undergo toxicity testing.
The new European law was prompted by discoveries that chemicals are amassing in human bodies, particularly breast milk, as well as in wildlife. In most cases, the potential dangers are unknown. Some 70,000 to 100,000 chemicals are in commerce today, and experts say that more than 90% have not been subjected to basic toxicity testing for health and ecological effects.
"These new rules will make a huge difference in protecting people's health, both at work and in everyday life, and in safeguarding our environment," said Guido Sacconi, a member of the Italian Socialist party who brokered the policy approved Thursday.
"Companies will have to show that the chemicals they produce or import are safe. But the competitiveness of European firms will not be threatened."
