Product Liability Risks for the Chemicals Industry – Recent Developments in Europe

2011 is a special year for the Chemicals industry. Following an initiative of the IUPAC (the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) and of UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), 2011 has been declared to be the International Year of Chemistry, during which actors of the Chemicals industries and institutions organise worldwide activities aiming at acknowledging the contribution of chemistry in today's world. At the same time, 2011 may also be a year of rising concerns. During the first quarter of 2011, chemical risks represented approximately 20 % of the notifications made to the European RAPEX system according to the monthly statistics of the European Commission. In addition, the Chemicals industry has recently been confronted with a large number of new legal requirements in the various jurisdictions all over the world. For globally acting companies it is therefore of increased interest to monitor these developments to ensure utmost compliance of the business and to minimise liability risks. Moreover, case law has continued to develop and has interpreted these new legal developments. This article provides an overview of the most relevant legal developments in practice in some of the most important jurisdictions for such companies in the Chemicals industry. Due to the amount of topics for the Chemicals industry and the complexity of the legal issues, this publication is of course only a starting point, but shall at the same time raise awareness for topics that should be on the agenda of international companies doing business in this industry.