Manufacturers and importers of chemicals in volumes below 100 tons should begin the multi-step process of preparing dossiers for evaluation under REACH, the European Chemicals Agency says.

While the deadline is more than three years away – May 31, 2018 – ECHA recommends that firms producing low-tonnage chemicals start compiling their registration and reporting documentation well in advance.

ECHA's REACH logo

ECHA has previously noted that it expects this final registration deadline under the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals law to generate the highest number of registrants, and that those registrants will largely comprise small and medium-sized enterprises.

To assist them with the task, ECHA has published new web pages “which outline the phases leading to a successful registration,” offering tips and links to additional information.

“The pages help companies to begin their preparations already now and give them easy access to the current information on ECHA's website,” the agency says, noting that “special attention has been paid to ensure that the content is understandable also to small and medium-sized enterprises.”

The REACH 2018 portal’s content is available in 23 languages, according to an Oct. 13 release.

ECHA developed the pages in consultation with stakeholders, addressing seven “phases” of REACH registration:

Know your portfolio
Find your co-registrants
Get organized with your co-registrants
Assess hazard and risk
Prepare your registration dossier
Submit your registration dossier
Keep your registration up-to-date.

Each phase-specific page includes tabs for “getting started,” “essential reading” and “going deeper.”

Under the “Know your portfolio” phase, ECHA recommends that companies review substance identity information and familiarize themselves with REACH requirements.

Within “Find your co-registrants,” ECHA reminds manufacturers and importers that they are obligated to collaborate with firms registering the same substances as part of a substance information exchange forum. Co-registrants must share scientific data and register jointly in addition to submitting their own registration dossier to ECHA.

Under “Assess hazard and risk,” ECHA instructs co-registrants to “compile information on uses, hazards and risks in order to demonstrate safe use of the substance,” and sets out specific regulatory, scientific and technical requirements for doing so.

According to ECHA, the new web pages are just a first step in supporting 2018 REACH registrants. The agency says it will continue its work to “simplify IT-tools, processes and support to help companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, to meet their duties under REACH.”

ECHA is planning a series of webinars aimed at low-tonnage registrants to be held in the coming years. Meanwhile, the agency intends to publish a “Registration 2018 Roadmap” by the end of 2014, which will outline action steps that will be undertaken “in order to make the best possible preparation for 2018.”

ECHA issued a draft five-year plan in May 2013 to improve its dossier-evaluation process and strengthen REACH guidance and training programs in anticipation of this final deadline for phase-in substances, among other objectives. It was based on experiences since REACH’s implementation in 2007 ([A#02130603001]).

Progress reports issued since the REACH program’s launch have identified recurring quality issues. In its latest report, released in February 2014, ECHA provided direction on chemical safety reports and adaptations to standard testing approaches, aimed at helping existing registrants to close data gaps and furnishing guidance to future registrants Also see "ECHA’s 2013 Report Targets Advice To Low-Tonnage REACH Registrants" - HBW Insight, 3 April, 2014..

The previous reporting deadline under REACH was May 31, 2013, for chemicals manufactured or imported in the EU at volumes between 100 tons and 1,000 tons annually. ECHA received 9,084 registration dossiers submitted by 3,215 companies, representing 2,923 substances in total Also see "ECHA Advises Registrants, Downstream Users Post-May REACH Deadline" - HBW Insight, 10 June, 2013..

The first REACH deadline was in November 2010 for firms manufacturing or importing chemicals in excess of 1,000 tons annually, as well as substances identified as posing the greatest hazards Also see "First REACH Deadline Accumulates Data On "Most Problematic" Chemicals" - HBW Insight, 13 December, 2010..

ECHA Launches REACH 2018 Web Portal For Low-Tonnage Registrants

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