Economic interests cloud hazard reductions in the European regulation of substances of very high concern

In order to investigate how hazard reduction and economic interests have influenced the regulation of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) under the Authorization program of the European chemical regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), the researchers analyzed the relative importance of toxicological properties, economic motivations, and available scientific knowledge on the probability of inclusion on the Candidate List. Evidence suggests that regulators have listed chemicals of secondary importance leading to lesser than anticipated hazard reductions, either because production and imports had already ceased before the listing, or because the compound has never been produced or imported in the European Economic Area (EEA) at all.