Day: 16 February 2006

Improve accounting for nuclear material, Sellafield told

The European Commission will issue a formal warning to UK nuclear plant Sellafield, giving it four months to improve its system of accounting for nuclear material, following a resolution passed today.

Mining giant pays $30m to end toxic waste case

An American mining company has agreed to pay the Indonesian Government US$30m to drop a case involving allegations of the organisation knowingly dumping toxic waste from its operations.

Edie launches free advertising for environmental tenders

Ghost warship will return to France

The ageing warship Paris had hoped to have scrapped in India has been ordered back to France after the official state watchdog deemed it industrial waste.

REACH – a perspective from the inorganic and downstream user sector

Despite its misleading name, the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation will not just impact upon the chemicals sector. There are also implications for those manufacturing and importing a wide variety of other substances within the EU, as well as the responsibilities placed upon downstream users of substances.

Reach and small business concerns – The Federation of Small Businesses explains how SMEs see the chemical poroposals.

When the Commission proposed a new EU regulatory framework for the Registration Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) in 2003 the stated aim of the proposal was '...to improve the protection of human health and the environment...' whilst at the same time improving innovation and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry.

REACH after 5 years. Will the EU defend what little is left? This is the question posed by WWF and answered for edie.net

WWF would like to confidently answer "yes". But if the new EU chemicals law is to deliver any of its expected benefits, EU politicians must resist all further pressure from the chemical industry and strengthen the text during the forthcoming 2nd Reading in Parliament and Council. Without improvements to properly protect human health and the environment many of the estimated ¬50 billion in benefits to human health and the environment will be lost.