AN industry leader has claimed that new health and safety legislation could shackle speciality chemicals companies in the North-East and cost jobs.

One hundred and fifty companies in the region, responsible directly and indirectly for 84,000 jobs, face crippling amounts of testing that could force them to lose their competitive edge with the rest of the world.

According to Dr Stan Higgins, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical and Speciality Cluster, which represents speciality chemical companies in the North-East, new legislation is unnecessary.

He said: "The further imposition of even more regulation and testing regimes is bound to have an impact on the global competitiveness of this important industrial sector in the North-East.

"Pharmaceutical and Speciality Cluster companies in the North-East have a significant impact on the region's economy. About 150 companies employ 14,000 people and support an estimated 70,000 jobs across the UK. The cluster and its members are working hard to ensure the sustainability of this industrial sector in the region and the UK, so they are naturally concerned about the wider impact of this new legislation."

The European Commission intends to further address health and safety legislation, the so-called Reach proposal (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), which is intended to ensure that chemicals are tested to see if they pose problems to health and the environment.

Michael Roberts, director of business environment at the Confederation of Business Industries, said: "Protecting the environment and people's health is vital, but this proposal will achieve little at huge cost.

"Everyday items made in this country, ranging from cars to paint to curtains, will become more expensive compared with products imported into the EU.

"This is a recipe for exporting jobs out of Europe to countries where environmental standards may be less stringent."