Amendment to REACH test methods regulation published

The first amendment to the Regulation on test methods for chemicals under REACHⁱ (Reg 440/2008) has been published in the European Union (EU)’s Official Journal. The European Parliament and the Council both adopted the Commission proposal without changes. The Regulation was modified to add four new test methods and update two existing ones, including a new in vitro test method designed to reduce the number of animals used in testing chemicals for skin irritation, specifically rabbits which are most commonly used. The Regulation also sets standards for determining whether certain substances are hazardous to human health and the environment. Legislation on cosmetics, detergents and biocides also makes use of the test methods in this regulation.

The Regulation can be found here:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:220:0001:0094:EN:PDF