REACH : EU Chemicals Regulation

REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals. It is a new Regulation, the EU’s big new legislative framework for dealing with chemicals and their associated risks. It applies to substances on their own, in preparations and in articles under certain conditions.

REACH requires manufacturers, importers and downstream users to gather comprehensive information about, and then register, the chemicals they produce, import or use in quantities over 1 tonne per year.

There are two types of substances: phase-in substances and non phase-in substances. The former are substances that have long been on the EU market, while the latter are either completely new substances or have been put on the EU market after 1981. In the last case they are deemed to be registered. The non phase-in substances that have not been placed on the EU market and the phase-in substances that have not been registered must be registered before they can be placed on the market. The pre-registration period is set between 1 June 2008 and 1 September 2008.

Depending on the characteristics of the substance concerned, a range of other obligations may need to be met. For some particularly hazardous substances, an explicit authorization will be required for each use of those substances. Extensive data is required, as well as a substitution plan.

For the registration to go forward effectively, an exchange of information must take place between the supplier and the user.

Downstream users must provide sufficient information to allow the supplier to prepare the “exposure scenario” for the proposed use.

Alternatively, users can conduct their own chemical safety assessment and report this use directly.

Users of substances should know if their suppliers will pre-register, and later register, the phase-in substances they use. This is crucial to make sure that these substances will be available also in the future.

Generally the registration of substances is a responsibility of the manufacturer or of the importer, and therefore not of the downstream user. Nevertheless, when the downstream user imports and/or manufacturers a substance or in case he does not want to communicate the use of the substance to his supplier, the registration becomes responsibility of the downstream user.