Facts about REACH
€4 billion
Cost of REACH to the chemical industry over the 11 year period [i]
€ 586 billion
The turnover of the chemical industry 2004 [ii]
€50 billion
Potential health benefits over 30 years of REACH[iii]
22%
Percentage of workers (in Europe) are exposed to toxic fumes and vapours for at least a quarter of their working time [iv]
0.06%
The percentage of chemical industry's annual sales revenue that REACH will cost [v]
€0.50
Cost of REACH per EU citizen per year [vi]
16%
Percentage of workers (in Europe) handle hazardous products [vii]
€3.5 billion
Savings due to REACH over 10 years as a result of 40,000 less occupational skin and 50,000 less occupational respiratory diseases [viii]
These calculations are based on the European Commission proposal 2003.
- Dutch presidency 2004 (pdf)
- CEFIC, 2005
- Commission’s Extended Impact Assessment (October 2003)
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, The practical prevention of risks from dangerous substances at work. November 2003: Bilbao, Spain
- Ackerman, F. and R. Massey, The true costs of REACH. October 13th 2004, Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University: Boston, USA.
- WWF Detox campaign, 2005
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, The practical prevention of risks from dangerous substances at work. November 2003: Bilbao, Spain
- ETUC 2005 (pdf)
Downloads
Download the REACH text (pdf, 1,7 MB)
Facts and controversial issues 2006 (ppt, 1,26MB)
Report:

Implications of
REACH for developing countries
(pdf, 1MB)
Les implications de REACH pour
les pays en développement
(pdf, 1,4MB)
