150 University Hall, UC Berkeley campus (map, public transportation, parking, driving directions)
Open to the public
Speaker: David Eastmond, UC Riverside
The presentation will be followed by opportunity for discussion.
The European Union (EU) recently enacted a sweeping new chemicals policy initiative known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals). It goes into force June 1 and will require chemical manufacturers or importers of chemicals in the European Union to obtain chemical, toxicity and exposure information on chemicals produced in volumes 1 ton per year, and to use this information to assess the health and environmental risks associated with their chemicals. The data requirements increase with the volume of chemical produced. The REACH data requirements represent a major effort to obtain data about the potential hazards for industrial chemicals and are far more comprehensive than similar US requirements. This presentation will describe the REACH legislation, its background and scope as well as its data and testing requirements. The strengths and limitations of the European approach to identify chemicals that pose environmental or health hazards will also be discussed.
David A. Eastmond served as a Jefferson Science Fellow within the US State Department during 2004-05, and followed the developments of the REACH and European chemicals policy during this period. He is a professor and chair of the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program at the University of California, Riverside.
Questions or more information? Contact Amy D. Kyle, adkyle@berkeley.edu.