First REACH deadline arrived

The first REACH deadline arrived on December 1st. More than 24,000 dossiers have been submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. Implementing the first phase of REACH registration has taken a lot of hard work and represented a steep learning curve for the chemical industry. The industry had to tackle complex questions such as the organisation of Substance Information Exchange Forums (SIEFs), which required data and cost sharing, appointing lead registrants and issuing letters of access. Cefic President Giorgio Squinzi commented: “Today’s deadline is an important step for the effective application of REACH. I want to thank EU organisations, particularly Vice President Antonio Tajani and Commissioner Janez Potočnik, for their collaborative approach and wish for cooperation to continue.
“We are already focusing on phase two, as we want REACH to become a success. All related existing and future chemicals legislation must be consistent and coherent with it.” Cefic Director General Hubert Mandery added: “These registration figures for the first phase are evidence that the chemical industry is committed to making REACH work and has invested huge resources in meeting this first registration deadline.” The first deadline is only a first step in a three-phase process, with the next two registration deadlines in 2013 and 2018. Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, is the Brussels-based organisation that represents the European chemicals industry. Created in 1972, it represents 29,000 companies that produce about a quarter of the world’s chemicals and employs around 1.2 million people. REACH stands for the Regulation for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. The REACH Regulation entered into force on 1st June 2007 to streamline and improve the former legislative framework for chemicals of the European Union (EU). REACH also created the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) which has a central co-ordination and implementation role in the overall process. ECHA is located in Helsinki, Finland and manages the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction processes for chemical substances to ensure consistency across the countries in which REACH applies.