REACH Registration, Evaluation

REACH Registration Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals... 

REACH Registration Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (European Community Regulation on chemicals and their... 

Industry is obligated to submit mandatory dossiers to the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) registry, an environmental protection regulation within the framework of the European Union (EU), and are to include a GHS aquatic hazard classification proposal. Both REACH and the GHS have significant implications for environmental protection... 

The core of the new EU scheme to control chemicals is REACH Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (32, 93). REACH will place a duty on companies that manufacture, import and use chemicals in the EU to assess the risks arising from their use, which will often require safety testing, and manage any risks identified. 

ICCVAM Interagency Co-ordinating Committee REACH Registration, Evaluation and... 

In May 2003 the Directorates General (DGs) Environment and Enterprise jointly published a draft proposal for an EU Regulation to introduce the new REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation of Chemicals) scheme. This article explains in some detail the main themes of the new REACH system. 

REACH. In 2003 the EU Commission proposed a new chemicals policy -REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals). The biocides used in AF products are still registered through the BPD, but the other paint constituents as with all other chemical constituents produced or imported > 1 ton/year on the European market will need to be partly or fully risk assessed under REACH. The legislation is expected to enter into force in 2007 (EU, 2003b). 

On 29 October 2003, the Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU regulatory framework for chemicals, the so-called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of CHemicals). This new regulatory framework achieved all the objectives identified in the White Paper (EU 2001) and thus represents a model of sustainable development by pursuing its three main goals economic (industrial competitiveness), social (health protection and jobs), and environmental. 

After a period of consultation on its workability, REACH was published as a proposal for a regulation in October 2003 (CEC, 2003a). It was finally agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers in December 2006 (Regulation (EC) 1907/2006, Directive 2006/12/lEC) and came into force in June 2007. The components of REACH — registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions — are outlined below. 

The European system for regulating synthetic chemicals, described in Chapter 5, is predominantly risk-based . This means that restrictions on the manufacture or use of chemicals must be justified by reference to evidence that there is a risk of the chemical causing a specified type of harm. REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals) does not define the term risk , but the directive on risk assessment of new substances defined it as the incidence and severity of the adverse effects likely to occur [...] due to actual or predicted exposure to a substance (Article 2 of Directive 93/67/EEC). In the first part of this chapter I look at how risks from chemicals are assessed. What does chemicals risk assessment in practice aim to achieve Can it provide the reliable evidence needed for agreement by all parties on whether or not a chemical poses a risk My answer to this second question is no there are multiple uncertainties in chemicals risk assessment which lead to protracted debates as to whether a chemical poses a risk or not. 

For example, once implemented, the European Commission s new chemicals policy REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) -endorsed in 2003 - would require manufacturers and importers of over one ton per year of any chemical substance to gather information on the properties, hazards, and use of that substance, and submit the data to the European Chemicals Agency. The Agency would then determine if the chemical substance needed to be further regulated, restricted, or banned from use. It is estimated that about 30,000 existing chemicals produced in or imported into Europe would be subject to REACH. Key objectives of the European Commission s initiative on the reformulation of chemicals policy are to raise human and environmental safety levels as well as to simplify and standardize the current legislation. 

This legislation, called REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals), was officially enacted on 1 July 2007. The law ensures that for thirty thousand substances more information will be disseminated, although only about 40 percent of these chemical substances will be researched for potential health and environmental risks. The remaining chemicals will continue to be shrouded in uncertainty. There is also very little research being done regarding the effects of all these substances combined, the so-called chemical cocktail. You can find more information about REACH at these links http //ec. europa.eu/environment/chem icals/reach/reach intro.htm and www. chemicalspolicy.org/downloads/REA CHisHere220307.pdf. 

Increased production levels require additional toxicology and ecotoxicology data to ensure that prolonged exposure effects are understood.10 Today, the ELINCS system is being progressed under European proposals labeled REACH—Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals. 

The environmental impact of waste disposal and of chemical use in Europe has led to three legislative actions that, in today s global economy, greatly affect flame-retardant use and research. These actions go by the acronyms of RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemical substances). These actions are discussed in detail in Chapter 22, but need to be mentioned here as they are clear examples of how changing regulations affect flame-retardant use, selection, and new fire-safety developments. The first one, RoHS, refers to how new items are manufactured, and specifically bans chemicals and elements of environmental and toxicological concern in Europe. One fall-out item of RoHS is the move from a lead-based solder on circuit... 

In the following, the four cornerstones of REACH - registration, evaluation, authorisation and restrictions of chemical substances - as well as a number of other important aspects of REACH will be described and analysed. 

The most frequently used BFRs are polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). The use of FRs has been growing rapidly in recent years. BFRs are the most often used FRs, and their market is still growing. However, the estimated annual use of OPFRs in Western Europe was almost twice that of all BFRs combined. Many FRs have been banned for use because of their potential toxicity, environmental occurrence, and accumulation in human tissue. FRs taken off the market are likely to be replaced by others. Although the REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals) regulatory system has been introduced in Europe to improve protection of human health and the environment, it is still necessary to monitor FRs in environmental samples [84, 88]. 

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