"REACH is here"

The REACH Regulation came into force on 1 June 2007. REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation of CHemicals and is based on the principle of independent responsibility within the industry. The regulation therefore places a duty on manufacturers and importers to the same extent as industrial and commercial users/processors. Employing the principle of reversing the burden of proof, REACH shifts the responsibility for examining chemical safety to these groups. In future they will have to demonstrate convincingly that their products are safe to handle and do not unnecessarily harm the health of either processors or consumers or damage the environment. This is no longer a task of the national authorities.


REACH has consequences

All substances manufactured or imported in quantities of more than 1 ton per annum have to be registered with the new European Chemicals Agency (EChA) in Helsinki - which in effect means that basic data on identity, impurities, classification, waste disposal and handling have to submitted in the form of a registration dossier. It is not the products that are registered but the individual substances - even if they are a constituent of a preparation or of a product. On the principle of "no data, no market", it will only be possible to place chemical substances on the EU market that have previously been registered. Substances that have not been registered will become illegal.