STANDARDS & REGULATIONS
REACH – TEN YEARS ON Dr Lisa Bushby, Lead Commentator on Wolters Kluwer Croner-i Hazardous
Substances, looks at the impact the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) has had on the management of chemicals in the EU.
EC Regulation 1907/2006 on REACH has brought about significant changes to the management of chemicals in the EU since it first came into force on 1st June 2007.
The regulation has pushed companies to do more than other legislation had in the past by placing the duty to prove the safety of their chemicals on them and by introducing the “no data, no market” principle to support this. As a result, REACH has reduced animal testing, become a global model, helped improve communication on hazards and become more proactive on chemicals management, and citizens have a higher level of
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confidence in products manufactured in the EU compared to those imported from non-EU states.
REACH FUNDAMENTALS The cornerstone of the regulation is the requirement to register all chemicals produced or imported in volumes of more than one tonne per year, a process that is being phased in over a period of 11 years, with the last deadline — 31st May 2018 — for those companies that manufacture or import substances in low volumes, between one and 100 tonnes per year, to register those chemicals. To date, over 15,000 substances have been registered.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) was set up to manage the technical, scientific and administrative aspects of the implementation of REACH.
After receiving a registration dossier detailing the substance’s properties, the Agency evaluates it and provides authorisation, if the substance is deemed to be safe. The evaluation is based on the consideration of whether any risks are adequately controlled and if the importance of the use of the substance outweighs the risks to human health and the environment. No authorisation for use is granted unless there is a substitution process
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