What is REACH?

Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals, REACH (EC 1907/2006) is a safety regulation that was implemented by the European Union (EU) to prevent the use of certain toxic chemical substances in products manufactured, sold, and imported within the EU.  

The regulation aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment through better and earlier detection of harmful chemical substances.  

REACH places the responsibility of compliance on companies that manufacture and market in the EU.

The Four Fundamentals of REACH:  

Registration

REACH requires the registration of chemical substances manufactured or imported into the EU in quantities exceeding 1 metric ton per year. REACH assigns the registration obligation on manufacturer and importer. Registrations are submitted to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) through their website.  

Evaluation

REACH evaluation is done through Dossier and Substance Evaluations.  

• Dossier Evaluation requires ECHA to perform a compliance check on minimum 5% of the dossiers submitted for registration. At which ECHA then notifies the registrant of any deficiencies.
• Substance Evaluation requires ECHA and the EU Member States to select 30 highly used chemical substances annually to be placed on the “Community Rolling Action Plan”, commonly referred to as “CoRAP”, for further evaluation. Each Member State has a designated agency that performs the evaluation, and it is not performed by ECHA. Chemical substances placed on the CoRAP may eventually be added to the restriction lists.  

Authorization

All companies that wish to use chemical substances identified as a “substance of very high concern” (SVHC) within the EU must obtain use-authorization. The authorization process aims to ensure that SVHCs are progressively replaced by less dangerous substances or alternative technologies.  

Learn More About REACH Authorization.

Restriction

REACH regulations restrict the use of harmful chemical substances subject to restrictions can be found in REACH Annex XVII.  

REACH places the responsibility of compliance on companies that manufacture and market in the EU. To comply with the regulation, companies must identify and manage the risks linked to the substances they manufacture and market in the EU. Manufacturers and importers are required to know if they are using any SVHCs, if so, demonstrate their safe handling procedures to ECHA, and communicate the risk management measures to their users. Companies must register this information in a central database in the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki.

‍