REACH - Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals

The EU's Council of Ministers and European Parliament reached a compromise in December and the REACH Regulation was adopted on 18th December 2006 and published in the Official Journal L396 of 30.12.2006, though a corrigendum version was issued in OJ L136 of 29.5.2007 (no changes of text of requirements, but layout changes drastically reduce printed size)

The full title is Regulation (EC) No 1907]/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94, as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC.

REACH came into effect on 1 June 2007 when certain requirements applied. This included the Safety Data Sheet provisions, to which there are some changes of detail.

Registration provisions of REACH will apply from 1 June 2008, replacing the current Notification of New Substances (NONS) provisions of the DSD and the requirements of the Existing Substances Regulation (EC) No 793/93.

REACH provisions, unlike Directives, have direct legal impact within the EC without the need for Member State (MS) implementing legislation; though MS will need to make some legislation to define the Competent Authority responsibility and the penalties for non-compliance, since enforcement is up to the MS.

The new European CHemicals Agency (ECHA) set up by REACH, has been established in Helsinki, Finland and is scheduled to be operational from 1 June 2008. See http://ec.europa.eu/echa/.

For those new to REACH the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/index.htm provides a useful starting place with a number of useful guidance leaflets, and links to the more detailed guidance available.

Those seeking either a broader appreciation, or even specific further information on REACH may well find what they are looking for at
http://reach.startpagina.nl/.

Although this page is maintained by a Dutch host, and some of the content is specific to the implementation of REACH in the Netherlands, there are nonetheless extensive links to a diverse collection of European and International REACH resources.

Also adopted on 18th December 2006 was Directive 2006/121/EC which makes consequential amendments to the 67/548/EEC Dangerous Substances Directive (DSD). This was also published in the OJ L396 of 30.12.2006, with a corrigendum version in the OL L 136 of 29 May 2007.

Further information and helpful materials on REACH is available to CHCS Members in the Members Only section of this website.

Page Revised, July 23rd, 2007

In case anyone is in any doubt, REACH is an acronym for Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of CHemicals.

REACH Pre-Registration

Chemical Hazard Communication after REACH

On March 19th Ross Fielding, a member of the CHCS Council, presented a talk, on behalf of the CHCS, on "Chemical Hazard Communication after REACH". A copy of the presentation can be found by clicking on this link: Chemical Hazard Communication after REACH

REACH Table of Contents

The REACH Regulation is extensive and does not include a useful Table of Contents. CHCS is grateful to Desmond Waight for making available a detailed Table of Contents. This is available from our Members Only REACH page.