Ten years of REACH - An animal protection perspective

It has now been 11 years since the EU's new chemicals legislation (Regulation No. 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals [REACH]) came into force. Two important statements in the REACH Regulation in relation to animal testing and alternatives are: Article 1(1), which states that one of its purposes is to promote alternative methods; and Article 25(1), which states that animal testing should be used as a last resort. This review looks at the mechanisms that were put in place within REACH to achieve these aims and asks, not only if they are being implemented properly, but also if they have been sufficient. Whilst the chemical industry has heavily used data-sharing and read-across, this review concludes that nevertheless over 2.2 million animals have already been used in new tests for REACH registrations. This equates to an annual average of 275,000 animals; 58,000 more per year than the best-case estimate made by the European Commission in 2004. The use of in vitro and (Q)SAR approaches as standalone replacements for animal tests has been relatively low. The levels of funding for research into alternative methods remain low, and there are concerns over the speed of formal adoption of those that have been validated. In addition, there have been issues with the recognition that testing as a last resort and the promotion of alternative methods applies to all parties, including the Commission, Member States and the agency responsible, the European Chemicals Agency. This review provides ten recommendations for better implementation of these two key aspirations, as well as lessons to be learned for future similar legislation.