REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), № 1907/2006 of 18 December 2006, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 30 December 2006, as amended - 29 May 2007 and so on.
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The regulation, which aims to regulate the production, placing on market and use of chemicals in the European Union, directly affects a wide range of manufacturers, importers, distributors and consumers of chemicals in the Community. At the same time, of course, companies from outside the European Union, which export their products to the European market and consume chemicals and mixtures produced in Europe, have been significantly affected too.
REACH is based on the most important elements such as:
Registration:
All chemical substances, with the exception of a number of substances removed from the scope of the new Regulation, shall be registered by manufacturers or importers with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
"No registration - no market" - the main motto of the regulation.
The registration stipulates that manufacturers and importers have to submit technical dossiers for chemical substances manufactured or imported in quantities of 1 tonne or more per year and a Chemical Safety Report (CSR) for substances manufactured or imported in quantities of 10 tonnes or more. At the same time, subsequent consumers of chemical products will need to ensure that their specific use of the product is also registered and identified.
Evaluation:
The evaluation of the quality of technical dossiers and industry proposals for new tests on vertebrate animals for chemicals is carried out by the European Chemicals Agency. The Agency also coordinates the in-depth assessment of the hazard level of already registered chemicals carried out by the competent authorities of the Member States, which aims to identify substances with too high a risk in use and justify the withdrawal of certain particularly hazardous substances from market or imposal of restrictions on use.
Authorization:
For some chemicals with identified hazardous properties of high concern (carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, reproductive toxicity, environmental persistance and bioaccumulation), there is a requirement for getting authorization for temporary specific use and then they will be withdrawn from the market permanently. The Agency publishes a list of very high concern substances - candidates who will fall into this category, which is constantly growing.
Restriction:
The production, placing on the market or use of certain hazardous high concern substances or simply with high risk may be restricted or prohibited.
European Chemicals Agency:
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is responsible for managing of technical, scientific and administrative aspects of REACH.
Harmonized classification and labelling:
An inventory of hazard classifications and precautionary labeling of hazardous substances will help to intensify the process of harmonizing the classification of a specific chemical among industry representatives.
Access to information:
REACH's rules on access to information include public access to information via the Internet, the current information request system operating and also specific provisions on the confidential business information protection.
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