REACH
What is REACH?
REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals. This EU Regulation entered into force on 1 June 2007 (Regulation (EC) number 1907/2006).
REACH is a European Regulation, and thus directly applicable in all member states without the need for its incorporation into national law.
What does REACH comprise?
REACH seeks to simplify existing law relating to chemicals, and to harmonize it with the aims of:
• Protecting human health and the environment more effectively against possible risks arising from chemical materials
• Providing better information for end consumers on chemical constituents in products
• Promoting the free movement of chemical materials within the internal market
• Maintaining and improving competitiveness and the innovative spirit
REACH obliges industry to assess and minimise risks arising from chemical materials, and to provide users with suitable safety information. The European Union for its part can if necessary enact additional measures for highly dangerous substances.
The scope of REACH extends to manufacturers or importers that manufacture in the EU or import into the EU materials as such (e.g. chemical constituents) and/or material constituents (e.g. additives or lubricants) amounting to over 1 tonne a year.
What does REACH require?
Depending on the quantities produced or imported, extensive investigations must be carried out. Guidelines for safe handling must be created on that basis. For you as the customer this naturallyraises the question of how your suppliers are preparing themselves for REACH.
Pre-registration
There is a time window from 1 June 2008 to 30 November 2008 for pre-registration - optional for phase-in materials. The pre-registration body responsible is the EchA (European Chemical Agency), the European agency for chemical materials (located in Helsinki), which requires the following information:
• Identification of the material including EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances) and CAS number (Chemical Abstracts Service)
• Contact details of the manufacturer/importer, and named contact persons
• Material names that could be of importance for structural analogies
• Proposed timescale for registration
The purpose of pre-registration is to establish contacts between manufacturers / importers of identical materials, and to exchange data on the materials within the SIEF (Substance Information Exchange Forum) in order to avoid duplicate studies.
Pre-registration is a precondition for participation in the SIEF, and provides the manufacturers / importers longer transition periods (ranked according to annual quantities) for full registration.
Registration
In contrast to pre-registration, registration is obligatory for all phase-in materials and for all non-phasein materials. Where the annual quantity exceeds 1 tonne, a technical dossier must be submitted containing the identity of the manufacturer / importer and the identity of the material, and also the following information:
• Information on production and use of the material
• Grading and marking of the material
• Guidelines for safe use of the material
• Checking by experts
• Application for confidentiality of certain information
• Information on exposure (uses, routes and frequency of exposure)
• Records according to Appendices VII to X including information on toxicology and eco-toxicity
• Simple / qualified study summary
Evaluation
When the registration documents have been submitted, the EchA checks them for completeness. Then approval and/or restriction proceedings for the materials follow.
What does REACH mean to Buderus Edelstahl Schmiedetechnik GmbH (BEST)?
The Regulation affects the entire delivery chain, so suitable cooperation and communication should be established with suppliers and customers wherever this is necessary.
Buderus Edelstahl Schmiedetechnik GmbH (BEST) is a downstream user in the delivery chain for purposes of implementing the REACH Regulation. BEST intends to fulfil its duties as a manufacturer and importer of products resulting from REACH.
Producing our products involves using materials, preparations and products of other manufacturers. BEST will remain in close contact with its suppliers to ensure that all materials, preparations and products used are pre-registered and registered probably and on time according to the REACH Regulation.
What does REACH mean to BEST’s customers?
In close cooperation with Voestalpine and our suppliers, BEST is doing everything to make the introduction of REACH as simple and straightforward as possible for our customers.
For our customers this means a stable planning environment and universal availability of REACHcompliant products.
Continuous analyses are carried out to determine the effects of REACH on our products, and we inform our customers immediately as soon as any relevant changes emerge.
The safety data sheet remains under REACH the most important medium for safety-related information on chemical products. In certain cases it is supplemented by information from the safety assessment for the chemical materials the products contain. Because of the registration time limits extending to 2018 in some cases, some of this information will only be available in a few years.
Who can provide assistance?
We have appointed Mr Herbert Failing as our company’s manager and contact for REACH:
Tel.: +49-(0) 6441 / 374 - 4642
Fax: +49-(0) 6441 / 374 - 4081
A REACH manager will be appointed for each individual company of the Voestalpine, who will help you to comply with the REACH Regulations.
Further information on REACH at voestalpine Group is available here:
http://www.voestalpine.com/group/de/konzern/reach
Further information on REACH on the Internet:
Homepage of the European Chemicals Agency (EchA) and links to the national Help desks: http://echa.europa.eu/