Production and consumption of chemicals by hazard class (Indicator)

Key messages: The production of chemicals hazardous to health has been decreasing relative to the total production of chemicals, reaching its lowest point in 2022. Such production peaked at 241 million tonnes in 2007 and decreased to 190 million tonnes in 2022. This is 22 million tonnes less than in 2021 and about 47 million tonnes less than in 2004.

Effective changes in the production of chemicals hazardous to health and chemicals not hazardous to health and absolute production of chemicals hazardous to health

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Production and consumption indicators developed and compiled by Eurostat cover the production and consumption of industrial chemicals hazardous to health from 2004. These indicators use five toxicity classes to identify chemicals hazardous to health, based on classification information available under the CLP Regulation (see supporting information). These indicators can help monitor changes in the production of chemicals hazardous to health.

While the production figures of individual chemicals remain relatively constant over time, the import/export figures vary considerably. The EU is a net importer of chemicals (including hazardous ones), because consumption in the EU is higher than production. The distribution of the toxicity classes is very similar in both the consumption and the production figures. The indicators do not reflect the true risks associated with chemical use, i.e. production data do not describe the exposure to hazardous chemicals nor the mixtures’ impacts.

Since 2004, production of chemicals hazardous to health has decreased relative to total chemical production, with some variation year to year.

EU production of chemicals hazardous to health reached a relative peak of 241 million tonnes in 2007 before falling in 2008 and 2009. The rebound in activity in 2010 was almost as big as the decrease reported in 2009 but was followed by further reductions in 2011. The production decreased slightly from 2011 to 2015 to about 206 million tonnes. The subsequent increase resulted in a level of 221 million tonnes in 2017; however, this decreased to 190 million tonnes in 2022, which is 22 million tonnes less than in 2021 and about 47 million tonnes less than in 2004. The consumption of chemicals hazardous to health in the EU followed the same pattern as the production, reaching 196 million tonnes in 2022.

Within total EU chemicals production, the share of all chemicals hazardous to health has remained roughly constant since 2004. From about 78% in 2004, the share of all chemicals hazardous to health fell to 73% in 2022; its lowest level. EU production of carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) chemicals, the most hazardous to health, hardly changed between 2004 and 2007, fluctuating between 42 million tonnes and 44 million tonnes. CMR chemicals production in 2022 was 36 million tonnes. The relative share of CMR chemicals in total EU chemical production has fluctuated between 13% and 15% since 2004.

Please consult the relevant indicators and signals below for a more comprehensive overview on the topic.

While the present indicator is about production, the indicators from Eurostat show the amount of production or consumption. The consumption indicator builds on the results of the production indicator, with consumption volumes the result of adding net imports (imports minus exports) to the production volumes of the chemicals.

The indicators do not differentiate between the different uses of chemicals but do include the production and consumption of intermediates, which are used under strictly-controlled conditions with a low level of exposure and release potential. It is important to note that the indicators rely on official statistics on the production of industrial chemicals. These are compiled by national statistical institutes and Eurostat. This for example excludes most substances of very high concern. Production volumes are categorised according to the toxicity of the chemicals.

The indicators present the trends in aggregated production and consumption volumes of chemicals hazardous to health, broken down into five classes according to their specific toxicity. These five classes of health hazards, beginning with the most dangerous, are:

carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR);
chronic toxic;
very toxic;
toxic;
harmful.

Annex 1 of Eurostat’s Compilation of chemical indicators report provides more information on the associated hazard statements from the CLP Regulation.

The production indicators presented in this article are derived from annual statistics on the production of manufactured goods (Prodcom).

In addition, Eurostat develops and compiles indicators on the production and consumption of chemicals hazardous to the environment. It divides chemicals into five classes based on their hazard to the aquatic environment. Special attention is given to bioaccumulation and persistence. More information about this indicator is available on the Eurostat webpage.

This indicator is one of the recommended indicators from the Commission study on key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the industrial transition towards the production of safe and sustainable chemicals.

References and footnotes

EU, 2008, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 353, 31.12.2008, pp. 1-1355).
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Production and consumption of chemicals by hazard class (Indicator)

Effective changes in the production of chemicals hazardous to health and chemicals not hazardous to health and absolute production of chemicals hazardous to health

Relevant objectives under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability

Other relevant indicators and signals

References and footnotes