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REACH compliance

Since 1 June 2008, companies in the EU which manufacture or import chemical substances on their own or in mixtures (preparations) above one metric tonne per annum (tpa) are required to ensure these substances are registered in a central database. Additionally, chemical producers and downstream users must be able to demonstrate the measures they take to ensure substances are appropriately managed through their respective supply chains. This responsibility extends to retailers and others supplying products to consumers (e.g. the automobile industry). Compared to previous legislation, the burden of proving safe use of chemicals rests mainly with industry, rather than regulators.

Because of the greater emphasis on supply chain management, the impact of REACH is felt beyond the EU, and exporters to the EU need to take extra measures to ensure their EU-bound products comply with REACH. Specifically, because they are outside the direct scope of REACH, non-EU companies must appoint EU-based only representatives to manage their compliance obligations.

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CHEMICALS COMPLIANCE BEYOND REACH

CHEMICALS COMPLIANCE IN THE EU

The chemicals legislation of EU member states is largely governed directly (as regulations) or indirectly (as directives) by over-arching EU laws. Several features underpin the application of most EU chemicals legislation:

Chemical inventories

The EU has created inventories, and associated reporting requirements, so that governmental authorities can obtain necessary information about the chemicals that are being manufactured in, and imported into, EU member states. The main inventories include the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances (EINECS),  the European List of Notified Chemical Substances (ELINCS) and the ‘No-longer Polymers’ (NLP) List.

• Registration and evaluation

Until REACH came into force, only substances placed on the EU market, and listed on ELINCS, were subject to registration and subsequent evaluation by national authorities.

• Priority chemicals/restrictions on use

EU regulators have developed lists of ‘priority chemicals’ with the aim of reducing or eliminating them from commercial products, industrial releases and waste streams, by means of pollution prevention, waste minimisation and recycling and reuse. Other types of priority chemicals which are closely monitored include those which may be intermediates or components for illegal narcotics, chemical weapons or military equipment.

• Hazard communications

The provision of safety data sheets and labelling of products is mandatory when substances classified as hazardous are manufactured or imported in the EU, and supplied to downstream users. The Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) Regulation 1272/2008 incorporates chemical classification criteria and labelling rules agreed under the United Nations (UN) Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) scheme. It is based on the principle that the same hazards should be described and labelled in the same way around the world.

We are well-versed in EU chemicals regulations, and recommend you consult our relevant whitepapers as background reading. Please also check out our REACH and Chemicals Compliance Services Section, and do please call us if you have a need that is not obviously addressed in our literature - we probably can help you.