The European Union plays a key role in setting standards for the safety of chemicals encountered in everyday life. The historic adoption of the new European chemicals legislation REACH has increased public awareness and interest about the thousands of hazardous chemicals used in everyday household products and materials. It has also raised awareness of legitimate concerns about how chemicals are linked with diseases such as cancer, reproductive disorders and the uncertainties of the health impact of the chemicals mixture accumulating in people’s bodies.

But what will the implementation of REACH really deliver for people across Europe? Will it be more effective in protecting our health, and that of future generations? Are the mechanisms in place to ensure that the increasing body of scientific evidence on potential health effects is used for precautionary policy making when decisions are made about which chemicals will be allowed on the market? How will this information be made available and understandable to the public and other key guardians of the public’s health such as the medical community, health-affected groups, health-care institutions and researchers and scientists?

A new project called the “Chemicals Health Monitor” aims to contribute to the tools and structures necessary to get through the REACH labyrinth, and provide authoritative information needed for measures to reduce any harmful effects of hazardous chemicals on human health and the environment, and choose safer alternatives.

A new Chemicals Health web portal will offer one-stop location for:
 Timely information on chemicals and health: weekly news summaries and fact sheets on the links between diseases and environmental factors (by disease, by chemical); research findings from the scientific press and EU research projects; biomonitoring updates; health, patients and research group activities; and, media coverage compilations.
 EU Policy monitoring: European Chemicals Agency health watch: summaries of the latest developments in chemical authorisation and implementation and calendars of what is coming up. This will include developments at the European Chemical Agency, the EU institutions and at the national level on chemical authorisation and REACH. The monitoring will also identify active NGOs, healthcare and patient associations and research institutes as potential partners in advocacy, particularly from the health community.
 Opportunities to contribute expertise and have your say: debate and analysis linking the science and the policy together to push, for example, that the right chemicals are first in line in the REACH authorisation process. Structures to maximise the health communities’ input into the European consultations and advisory committees will be set up.

This initiative aims to create the tools, structures and encouragement to drive more precautionary and participatory chemicals management policies in the EU and to ensure a more rapid translation of latest research and society’s concerns into strong and effective implementation of REACH to protect health.

The project will be run by the Health & Environment Alliance in collaboration with other partner organisations across Europe.