Landmark EU chemical law passed

The European Parliament has backed a deal, reached with EU governments, on wide-ranging legislation to control the use of toxic chemicals in industry.

The law is made to force firms to prove the thousands of chemicals they include in their products from cars to clothes are safe. 'Reach', as it's called, has been described as the most important piece of EU legislation in two decades. It puts the onus on business rather than public authorities to test chemicals for safety - including the thousands of chemicals that have been used for years without proper understanding of their effect on health or the environment. This is very good news, longer will the government(s) be forced to test the products in the EU..now the companies must ensure the safety before bringing them to market (and prove it!)...of course this could lead to bribery/corruption..but as long as the authorities checking to see if they've proven the safety are honest, this will work out great.