European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances

In 1979 the sixth amendment to the dangerous substances directive (79/831/ EEC) introduced a notification system for new substances and made provision for the publication of an inventory of existing substances, the latter being those substances on the European market by 18 September 1981. The European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances (EINECS) was published in 1990 and lists 100,106 substances (SLIM, 1999). A decade later some 30,000 or so of these substances were thought to be marketed in volumes of above 1 tonne per year, these accounting for more than 99 per cent of the total volume of all substances on the EU market (CEC, 2001, p6). 

Existing chemicals are those that were on the EU market before 18 September 1981 and listed in EINECS (the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances). The Regulation requires industry to report data on existing substances, the Commission to prioritise substances for risk assessment and Member States to conduct risk assessments of those priority substances. Will be replaced by REACH. 

Since its original introduction, amendments have expanded and updated the provisions of the Directive. Procedures for notification of new substances were introduced with the 6th Amendment to the Directive in 1979. In order to define new substances , it was necessary to establish an inventory of chemicals then on the Community market. EINECS, the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances, was compiled as of 18th September 1981. New chemicals, notified within the European Community after that date, are added to the European List of Notified (New) Chemical Substances (ELINCS). 

Chemical Names, Abbreviations, Chemical Abstract Registry (CAS) and European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substance (EINECS) Numbers, Chemical Eormulations, and Molecular Weights for Phthalate Esters... 

The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry numbers for limestone, CaC03 and MgCOs are 1317-65-3, 471-34-1 and 546-93-0 respectively. The EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances) reference for limestone is 207-439-9. 

EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Chemicals) means the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances. This inventory contains the definitive list of all substances deemed to be on the Community market on 18 September 1981. 

European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances (EINECS), Official Journal C146A, Vol. 33, 1990. 

EINECS European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances... 

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