Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is a new European Union Regulation, which requires the disclosure of all chemicals sold in the E.U. in quantities of more than one metric ton per year. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment. The regulations contain 849 pages and took seven years to pass.
According to some in the chemical industry, REACH is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will impact industries throughout the world. REACH started in June 2007, and will be phased in over the next decade. When REACH is fully implemented, it will require all companies manufacturing or importing chemical substances into the European Union in quantities of one ton or more per year to register these substances with a new European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland. Because REACH applies to some substances that are contained in objects ('articles' in REACH terminology), any company importing goods into Europe could be affected.
A major part of REACH is the requirement for manufacturers or importers of substances to register them with a central European Chemicals Agency. A registration package must be supported by a standard set of scientific data on that substance. If a company does not register its chemical and supply the required data, the company cannot manufacture or sell them in the European Union.
REACH focuses regulatory attention on so-called substances of very high concern, which include those that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic to reproduction. Currently, 16 chemicals, including three phthalates, are on the REACH list as chemicals of concern.
According to some in the chemical industry, REACH is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will impact industries throughout the world. REACH started in June 2007, and will be phased in over the next decade. When REACH is fully implemented, it will require all companies manufacturing or importing chemical substances into the European Union in quantities of one ton or more per year to register these substances with a new European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland. Because REACH applies to some substances that are contained in objects ('articles' in REACH terminology), any company importing goods into Europe could be affected.
A major part of REACH is the requirement for manufacturers or importers of substances to register them with a central European Chemicals Agency. A registration package must be supported by a standard set of scientific data on that substance. If a company does not register its chemical and supply the required data, the company cannot manufacture or sell them in the European Union.
REACH focuses regulatory attention on so-called substances of very high concern, which include those that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic to reproduction. Currently, 16 chemicals, including three phthalates, are on the REACH list as chemicals of concern.
In the coming years, the REACH law will require that companies prove the safety of a given chemical before it is allowed to be sold; those chemicals deemed dangerous—or "substances of very high concern" due to associated human health risks—will only be sold with special governmental permission.
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