Latest News on REACH
REACH is a major reform of chemicals management legislation in Europe and although the legal text has been published, further interpretation of the legal text and guidance on practical application is being developed. A range of stakeholders are involved in the management aspects of the European Chemicals Agency and many decision making committees have been set up to make the REACH process as transparent as possible.
REACH News
March 2011
On April 1st ECHA published and update to the Guidance on Requirements for Substances in Articles. The update replaces the previous guidance document.
ECHA has updated its web section on applications for authorization. The web section now includes web forms for dossier submission and template for dossier preparation.
A new release of ECHA's chemical safety assessment and reporting tool Chesar, that is fully compatible with IUCLID 5.3, can now be downloaded from the Chesar website.
February 2011
There is an update of the IUCLID tool which enables companies to check which information from their registration dossiers will be made public on ECHA's website. The tool can now filter registration dossiers based on a category approach.
Version 2.1 of the OECD QSAR toolbox to group chemical substances into categories is now available to download.
IUCLID 5.3 is now available. Registrants are encouraged to install IUCLID 5.3 in order to be ready to submit dossiers into the new REACH-IT version 2.2, which will be released in April 2011.
January 2011
ECHA improves transparency of dossier evaluation. REACH requires that new testing of a substance involving vertebrate animals should only be carried out as a last resort.
ECHA has released an updated list of registered substances.
Echa received 3.1 million Classification and Labelling notifications by January 3, 2011.
December 2010
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) are about to start working together in the area of chemicals safety.
ECHA recommends that eight substances of very high concern be subject to authorisation.
A new version of the OECD Chemportal is now online. It provides free public access to information on more than 600,000 records on chemical substances.
The Member State Committee (MSC) agreed unanimously on the identification of eight Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) that will be added to the Candidate List and may thus become subject to authorisation
By the REACH deadline of 30 November 2010, 24,675 registration dossiers have been successfully submitted for 4,300 substances including nearly 3,400 phase-in substances. See the press release.
November 2010
The OECD QSAR Toolbox for Grouping Chemicals into Categories is now vailable for free download.
Companies have already submitted successfully more than 500,000 notifications. Companies who still need to notify have until January 3rd to do so.
A webinar was held on November 16th to help inexperienced register. Slides and recordings can be found here.
October 2010
There is now available an FAQ about paying your REACH fees.
You can now verify which substances have been registered here.
The RAC has adopted opinions on four proposals for harmonised classification and labelling across Europe.
September 2010
The last call for companies to register chemicals is Nov. 30 2010. See the press release.
Calculate your REACH fees with this plugin.
A new version of the Technical Completeness Check plugin is available. See details here.
August 2010
Guidance Fact Sheet on Use Descriptor System now available in 20 EU languages. Find it here.
July 2010
Update of ECHA's Chemical safety assessment and reporting tool, Chesar, is now available.
ECHA publishes Guidance Fact Sheet on Use Descriptor System.
ECHA has published a new manual "How to Make Valid Confidentiality Claims".
June 2010
There were 2540 SIEF's formed by June 9th. The number of SIEF's is increasing continuously, for the latest update please consult the ECHA website.
ECHA published a new guidance document in connection with avoiding animal testing. The aim of the guidance is to ensure that companies consider all possible alternative methods for data generation on hazards, as the aim of the REACH regulation is limit testing on vertebrate animals.
The Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement published the results of inspections carried out between May-December 2009. In 23 23 member states 1600 inspections were done. The Forum extends its project and works on elaborating further enforcement procedures.
May 2010
A new version of REACH-IT, the online portal through which companies can submit data to ECHA was made available. It includes features such as an online functionality allowing companies to prepare their Classification and Labeling. No further features will be introduced to REACH-IT before November 2010.
January 2009
The CLP regulation ((EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures) entered into force on 20 January 2009 and applies across the European Union. It amends and repeals directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amends Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH). For further information see the ECHA website.
To read the latest FAQ's on REACH, REACH-IT, IUCID5 and CLP, please visit the following website.
December 2008
Pre-registration for phase-in substances ends December 1, 2008.
November 2008
The Nordic Council released on the availability of information to adequately manage toxics in everyday consumer products. Download Toxic Substances in Articles: The Need for Information.
July 2008
The European Chemicals Agency has prepared REACH Annex XV, the first list of 15 candidate substances for authorization; substances of very high concern (SVHC). SVHCs are defined as carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins, are persistent, bioaccumulative or toxic, or as identified on an individual basis. This list is not yet final as the Agency has opened the list up for comments. Additional substances will be added to the list over time as Member States prepare additional chemical dossiers.
April 2008
The REACH workshop "Final Countdown to Pre-Registration and Registration of Chemicals" that was organized by the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency took place in Brussels on April 14, 2008. Information on the workshop can be found here.
Commission Regulation (EC) No 340/2008 of April 16, 2008 on the fees and charges payable to the European Chemicals Agency pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) was published.
Furthermore an updated overview of Frequently Asked Questions on REACH by the industry was published on April 9.
There were many negotiations ongoing on the interpretation of the REACH text. According to the final decision, an only representative (OR) should not aggregate the tonnages from different non-EU manufacturers or importers of the same substance for registration purposes. For more information on registration and the role of only representatives, please consult the Guidance on registration.
For more on the Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling (GHS) as it relates to REACH, see Publications.
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