Chemicals are everywhere in our everyday life: energy, industry, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, and so on. They are undoubted effective but their effects on human health and/or the environment are not necessarily neutral. But can you have an active compound that lacks an effect..?

The main challenge for manufacturers and users is thus to detect and avoid risk for everyone involved in the product chain, from the lab technician during development to the end user, whether domestic or industrial.

Electricity is an essential tool but can also represent a significant hazard. Nevertheless, we use it extensively in our daily lives, with very few incidents. This typifies risk prevention in the use of a hazardous product.

Without taking precautions on a daily basis (which translates into the application of strict standards and the development of ever-improved equipment), the use of electricity would have certainly been impeded and the world would be a very different place!

The same is true of chemicals. Industrial countries already have rules which are becoming more international, and the GHS system is ushering in an age of global regulations. However, the huge number of different compounds and the many types of hazard make it difficult to apply these regulations. This is a specialist area and so dialogue between the market's various stakeholders is more important than ever.

On the eve of GHS and REACH, the creation of an international show bringing together all these stakeholders is clearly the way forward. GEPAR EXPO aims at being a meeting platform for suppliers, service providers and the manufacturers and users of hazardous substances and formulations. In just a few days, you will be able to gain an overview of the markets for testing & safety equipment, packaging and services targeted at minimizing the risks associated with hazardous products. All the market players will be represented, from R&D providers to experts in waste disposal, via all the key phases in production, packaging, storage and transport.

This event will also feature a range of seminars and workshops delivered by top specialists and representatives of the competent authorities. It will be a unique opportunity to keep up to date with today's changing regulatory landscape.

With support from the main stakeholders, professional bodies and competent authorities, and set against a context of ever greater protection for personnel and the environment, this annual event is undoubtedly one that you cannot afford to miss!