EU chemicals policy (REACH)
REACH is the new EU regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It requires manufacturers and importers of chemicals to register each substance they make or place on the market in quantities exceeding one tonne in a central database managed by the European Chemicals Agency.
The aim of REACH is to ensure the protection of human health and environment, maintain the competitiveness of the European chemical industry and prevent the fragmentation of the internal market. This regulation is applicable in the same way across the 27 Member States of the European Union.
The EU legislators finalised the process of creating this new chemicals policy for Europe in December 2006, thus marking a historic milestone. REACH is officially entering into force on 1 June 2007.
Thoroughly committed to safer products and processes, the European chemical industry (represented by Cefic) and the European petrochemistry industry sector (represented by Appe) want to make REACH work. Cefic and Appe will play an active role in helping companies to comply with the regulation.
Registration preparation
REACH encourages manufacturers and importers of substances to collaborate to share hazard data and expertise about substances. The European Chemicals Agency will manage one registration dossier per substance. The creation of voluntary consortia will facilitate the exchange of information on hazards, handling and use of substances and allow substantial savings of testing and registration costs.
Appe and its sector groups are working on the creation of task forces to prepare for the registration of petrochemistry-related substances. These include aromatics, olefins, coal chemicals, amines, alcohols, esters, fuel ethers, hydrocarbon and oxygenated solvents, acrylonitriles, acrylates, phenols, ethylene oxides and propylene oxides derivatives, acetyls and styrene.
Appe and its sector groups will provide support for the preparation of pre-registration (declaration of substances candidates for registration) and where appropriate use the services of ReachCentrum, an independent service unit established by Cefic to help companies with preparation and implementation of REACH.
REACH timelime
All pre-registrations will need to be submitted to the European Chemicals Agency no later than end 2008. As of 1 January 2009 the Chemical Agency will publish the list of the pre-registered substances and all manufacturers/importers who notified their intention to register the same substance will participate in the Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF). The Cefic/REACH Industry Preparation Letter No 8 provides guidance for preparatory work ahead of pre-registration and working together in SIEF and consortia
Whilst Companies need to pre-register and notify accordingly the EU Chemical Agency by 1 December 2008, it is important to bear in mind that there are different deadlines for the registration:
- Manufacturers/importers supplying a substance above 1,000 tonnes/year, or a CMR cat. 1 or 2 substances above 1 tonne/year, or an R50-53 substance (PBT/vPvB) above 100 tonnes/year: 1 December 2010
- Manufacturers/importers supplying a substance above 100 tonnes/year: 1 June 2013
- Manufacturers/importers supplying a substance above 1 tonne/year: 1 June 2018
IUCLID5 (International Uniform Chemical Information Database)
IUCLID5 is an essential system for industry to store and maintain data about chemical substances and it is the tool to submit data to the Agency. The Commission has recently released the IUCLID5 software, and its use should be included in the REACH implementation plans.Data sharing guidance
The European Chemical Agency -ECHA- recently released the Final Guidance on Data Sharing produced under RIP 3.4. The document responds to the REACH requirement on chemical companies to share animal test data and jointly submit certain substance information in the scheme's registration phase. For more information on REACH, click hereFor more information on ReachCentrum, click here
print
