REACH Regulation now in force
The new European law on chemicals, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), entered into force on 1 June 2007. This has been established through EC Regulation (No 1907/2006) concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) establishing a European Chemicals Agency with EC Directive 2006/121/EC.
The European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, which is conducting the screening process, became operational on that date and will begin accepting the first registrations one year later. It will take at least three to four years before the first substances are registered or, if they are considered too dangerous, replaced by less toxic substances.
The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the properties of chemical substances. The REACH Regulation gives greater responsibility to industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. Manufacturers and importers will be required to gather information on the properties of their substances, which will help them to manage them safely, and to register the information in a central database.
The European Chemicals Agency will act as the central point in the REACH system: it will run the databases necessary to operate the system, co-ordinate the in-depth evaluation of suspicious chemicals and run a public database in which consumers and professionals can find hazard information.
The Regulation also calls for the progressive substitution of the most dangerous chemicals when suitable alternatives have been identified.
Further information relating to the REACH Regulation is available from http://ec.europa.eu/echa/home_en.html
Source:http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_intro.htm (accessed 09/07/07)