Chemicals Committee

The OECD’s work on chemicals assists countries to develop policies and instruments that make chemicals management as efficient and robust as possible, while protecting health and the environment. In this context, the OECD administers over 19 diverse legal instruments, including on chemical safety and accidents, the exchange of confidential chemicals data or the Polluter-Pays Principle. By avoiding duplicative data requirements, the OECD’s Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) programme generates cost savings of over 309 million Euros annually for governments and business. 

• Supporting the Mutual Acceptance of Data and other instruments of cooperation
• Harmonising methodologies for the risk/safety assessment of chemicals
• Developing common tools and approaches for the risk management of chemicals
• Engaging on instruments for the prevention of chemical accidents and pollution
• Updating selected OECD Council’s Acts and legal instruments related to chemicals

Business at OECD’s Chemicals Committee enables private sector access to the wide range of OECD activities on chemicals management and safety. Leveraging members’ technical expertise, Business at OECD contributes to the development of policies and instruments for chemical testing and assessment, foster the exchange of information, and provide an institutional framework for private sector engagement. Business at OECD’s Chemicals Committee meets bi–annually and convenes additional thematic ad-hoc sessions. Members provide their expertise to the OECD’s specific workstreams on an ongoing basis.

• OECD’s Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee
• OECD’s Working Group of National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Programme
• OECD’s Working Group on Pesticides
• OECD’s Working Group on Chemical Accidents
• OECD’s Working Party on Risk Management
• OECD’s Task Force on Hazard Assessment
• OECD’s Task Force on Exposure Assessment
• OECD’s Task Force on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers