EARLY WARNING ON CHEMICAL REGULATIONS

WHEN U.S. MANUFACTURERS gathered earlier this month to figure out how to respond strategically to emerging chemical regulations abroad, they made little progress. In contrast to their inconclusive discussions, the U.S. military described its system for following and influencing the development of domestic environmental regulations that could affect use and availability of chemicals. The Aug. 9-10 conference, held in Baltimore and organized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), was billed as a forum for "developing a sustainable approach to emerging chemical issues." There, industry representatives tried to lay the groundwork for unifying the voices of U.S. manufacturers so they can influence the development of policies on chemicals elsewhere in the world. Much of the discussion, however, focused on how the European Union's new legislation, the Registration, Evaluation & Authorization of Chemicals (REACH), is affecting global operations and supply chains. "We never want to get caught in a re...