PLANS for testing up to 30,000 chemicals to ensure they pose no danger to health or the environment have been approved by Cumbria MEPs.

With concern growing about the long term consequences of chemicals, the EU is introducing measures to require the registration and evaluation of those used in household and industrial products.

Many man-made chemicals in daily use have never been properly tested. Recent studies have found that people in Britain have scores of artificial chemicals accumulating within their bodies.

The plans have been criticised by bosses of the UK's £41 billion chemical industry, who say they will impose unnecessary costs on manufacturers. Environmental groups have also criticised the proposal saying that some dangerous chemicals may slip through the testing net.

But MEPs meeting in Strasbourg this week gave the programme a firm endorsement, bringing the European Parliament close to the position already adopted by the British Government.

Cumbria Euro-MP Chris Davies is the Liberal Democrat's key negotiator on the new chemicals legislation known as Reach (Regulation Authorisation and Evaluation of Chemicals) and says the result is a workable measure that should allow the European chemicals industry to emerge stronger and be able to set environmental standards for the world.

He said: "The chemical industry in the North West is a major employer and one of Britain's most successful group of enterprises. I don't want it to lose a single job, but the health and environmental reasons for this measure are overwhelming.

"I believe we have got the balance right, ensuring that people will get the information they need without imposing excessive costs on an industry that is hugely important to our economy. MEPs have taken steps to lower the costs for industry of implementing REACH by reducing the number of tests required to prove safety but 99 per cent of chemicals likely to pose a threat to health or the environment will still get identified. The testing process will take years, but the sooner we start the better."

The tests will look at chemicals in household products, including bleach, disinfectant and cleaning fluid, that have been blamed for the huge surge in childhood asthma in Britain. A recent study shows that children born into households that use them are twice as likely to suffer from persistent wheezing.

Mr Davies said: "For too long we have been treating our planet like a giant chemistry set. Now Europe is taking steps to bring order to the situation and set safety standards for the world.

"Instead of waiting for science to expose the latest scandal, chemical companies will have to prove that their products are safe before they put them on the market."