Last summer ushered in a new era in the regulation of chemicals. On 1 June 2007, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), the expansive scheme by the European Union (EU) to regulate chemicals used in commerce and consumer products, took effect.REACH applies to chemicals manufactured or marketed in Europe, and its regulations affect companies exporting chemicals to Europe as well as those located there. REACH puts the burden on chemical companies to provide information on how the chemicals they make affect human health and the environment. REACH has two parts: the collection and sharing of data throughout supply chains, and the authorization of chemicals of higher concern to human and environmental health.
In an initiative that is set to be phased in over the next 11 years, REACH will require the registration of chemicals produced or marketed in the EU in quantities of 1 metric ton or greater per year. Chemicals imported or produced in amounts of 1,000 metric tons or more are to be registered by November 2010, whereas those at amounts of 1 metric ton or more are to be registered by May 2018.
"The basic philosophy of REACH is that the [chemical] industry is managing the risk, and what REACH does is require the industry to put on paper the knowledge about the chemicals they put on the market, and describe how they are dealing with any possible risk which might be in them," says Joachim Kreysa, director for cooperation at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which administers REACH.
Chemical companies have from 1 June 2008 until 30 November 2008 to pre-register so-called phase-in substances—ones that are already marketed in the EU, or that have been imported or made in the EU in the past 15 years even if not sold there—by providing ECHA with such basic information as the name of the chemical and the importer. "It is important that companies [outside Europe] begin to consider the possible impact of REACH on their business now," says Malachy Hargadon, environmental counselor with the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation EU. These companies should be examining their stock of chemicals and the requirements of REACH, he adds. Such chemicals are in a database called EINECS, or European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances.
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