Prioritisation of Regulatory Decision-Making

The need to develop a method of prioritisation under REACH is highlighted by the fact that approximately 3,700 substances are anticipated to be registered under REACH within the first 3.5 years of implementation (Section 2.5.1). In the history of chemical regulation, such a large number of risk assessments have never been generated over such a short time period. Several substances will be 

29 Active substances present in plant protection products, biocides or medicinal products are outside the scope of REACH but product formulants such as emulsifiers are included. 

30 As evident from previous European Commission Decisions under the General Product Safety Directive [498] that were only followed by restrictions under Directive 76/769 when sufficient evidence indicated the necessity for harmonised EU technical standards. 

The REACH legislation stipulates prioritisation for evaluation and authorisation based only on hazardous properties, production and use volumes, and whether a chemical has a wide dispersive use . Nevertheless, it is possible that the REACH TGDs could incorporate methods for prioritisation for evaluation, restriction or authorisation based on the Dutch SOMS or the method proposed in the UK RCEP s report Chemicals in Products (refer to Section 5.2). The SOMS method for prioritisation according to hazard and 

Incorporating Social Dimensions into a Prioritisation Method 

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