Experience with chemicals regulation - Lessons from the Danish LAS case

Chemicals regulation is under pressure for change, and lessons from former experience are important to inform the process. This paper is based on a case study of the Danish measures towards regulating a specific substance, Linear Alkylbenzene Sulphonate (LAS), and the case is used to deepen the understanding of how chemicals regulation is being shaped through social and political processes, and which lessons can be drawn regarding the effectiveness of different regulatory measures. We outline briefly the history of the chemicals regulation as a background for the detailed discussion of the case study. Finally, we present a few tentative proposals for future changes of the chemicals regulation and conclude with relating the case to the ecological modernization discourse.