Firms were today warned to start gearing up for Europe's biggest- ever single piece of legislation.
Euro-MPs have given the green light to new laws on the testing of thousands of chemicals in daily use.
Once the law comes into effect next summer, up to 30,000 chemicals will come under scrutiny - many facing detailed testing for the first time since they came on the market.
In the UK alone, the law will regulate a pounds 50bn-a-year chemicals industry.
The vote ends years of wrangling over the controversial measures.
The new regime for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) establishes a list of chemicals, about 13,000 of which are deemed of "of very high concern" and face automatic testing. About 17,000 more will be open to scrutiny on request.
Before 1981, manufacturers of chemicals coming on to the market were not obliged to put them through rigorous testing.
Today, thousands have still never been fully evaluated and yet are part of the plastics and metals used in everything from toys to teaspoons and cars, plastic straws and paint.
REACH puts the untried chemicals under the spotlight - but the European Trade Union Confederation blamed the chemicals industry for weakening the final deal.
The rules crucially reverse the burden of proof on chemicals safety, making it the responsibility of manufacturers to prove that their products pose no health risk.
Steve Elliott, Chemical Industries Association chief executive, said: "This has truly been a legislative marathon which now looks like entering into force in June 2007."
He added: "We believe that the package agreed by the European Parliament represents the best chance for REACH to deliver on its original objective - ensuring improvements in human health and the environment whilst fostering
innovation and competitiveness."
Tens of thousands of UK firms - both big and small - will be affected by REACH and the CIA is advising them to consider the implications for their business as a matter of urgency.
Conservative MEP John Bowis said: "A balance has been found to provide businesses with legal certainty, confidentiality and protection of intellectual property, to minimise the need for animal testing and promote alternatives to animal testing, and to lead the world in a regulatory regime for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of all chemicals, while having a lighter touch regime for small firms."
Irish Fianna Fail MEP Liam Aylward said: ""Under the current patchwork of legislation we are unsure of the quantity of chemicals used and the effect on our health and our environment.
"This agreement is ground-breaking. We will be better informed. There will be a growing impetus for companies to invest and evolve in terms of research and development and substitution plans."
The Federation of Small Businesses urged the UK Government to help small businesses manufacturing chemicals, because they will be hardest hit by the extra costs of the new chemicals testing requirements.
The European Commission has estimated that REACH will cost between pounds 1.5bn and pounds 3.5bn over 11 years.
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