I think this comment from the original article sums things up nicely: "The 1988 regs are a total mess. They work for no one except the chemicals manufacturers

I think this comment from the original article sums things up nicely: "The 1988 regs are a total mess. They work for no one except the chemicals manufacturers and the most slapdash furniture manufacturers. They could be described as either over-regulation or under-regulation. In either case, it's the wrong regulation. But because they have created a certain kind of industry, that industry, with its sunk costs and established interests, wants them to stay as they are. And despite years of handwaving and consultations that go nowhere, governments have obliged."