REACH: European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use

REACH is the European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances. The law entered into force on 1 June 2007. The REACH Regulation places greater responsibility on industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the...

READ ARTICLE >

Eco-innovation Action Plan – Actions

The Eco-innovation Action Plan (EcoAP ) comprises seven actions to help build stronger and more stable market demand for eco-innovation. These actions focus particularly on market supply and demand, on research and industry, and on policy and financial instruments.  They will bring together stakeholders, the private and public sectors, and the European Commission. Action 1. Environmental...

READ ARTICLE >

Protection of Groundwater against Pollution and Deterioration

Directive 2006/118/EC  on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration was implemented in Ireland by S.I. No.9 of 2010 – European Communities Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations, 2010. The directive establishes a regime which sets underground water quality standards and introduces measures to prevent or limit inputs of pollutants into groundwater. The directive establishes quality criteria that takes...

READ ARTICLE >

Strategic Environmental Assessment- A Review of its Effectiveness in Ireland

Strategic Environmental Assessment in Ireland (SEA) is the process by which environmental considerations are integrated into Plans and Programmes across a broad range of sectors including energy, fisheries, industry, telecommunications, water and land use. A review of SEA, commissioned by the EPA, has found that: SEA is providing a vital tool for environmental protection in...

READ ARTICLE >

Consultation on new RoHS bans

The European Commission’s environment department has launched the first of four consultations on new bans under the RoHS directive that deals with hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This is the start of a consultation process that will end in November 2013 with the publication of a final report on a methodology to identify...

READ ARTICLE >