Report on demands of new chemical safety testing laws

That's the verdict of a University of Plymouth report on the training of scientists in relation to the hazard and risk assessment of chemicals and nano materials in the environment. The University, which is one of the forefront national advisors on the safety of nanotechnology, was commissioned by Defra to make the report to inform research councils and other government bodies including the Department for Universities, Innovation and Skills and the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. The move comes as the next phase of the new EU REACH legislation, which originally came into force in 2007, is due to be implemented in 2010. The legislation will require all chemicals to be registered, involving rigorous testing procedures to ensure their safety for release into the environment and the human food chain. Some estimates suggest that up to 30,000 chemicals may require testing in the EU each year at a total expenditure of €514M. According to the team of experts at the University of Plymouth, the UK does not have enough trained scientists to undertake these new chemical risk assessment procedures, which could have serious implications as lead author, Professor Richard Handy says; "The UK government has a duty to protect human health and the environment, and so if we are not able to undertake these important safety assessments, new chemicals cannot be legally registered.