Legal firm highlights benefits of early REACH compliance

London -- Companies that are quick to comply with REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Registration of Chemicals) legislation will have real commercial advantage over rivals who are slow to act, according to lawyers at Walker Morris.

REACH, which came into force on 1 June, is one of the most complex legislation ever enacted by the EU. It affects not just chemical companies but all those downstream users who use chemicals in various aspects of their day-to-day business operations.

The legislation places responsibility for ensuring the safety of chemical substances onto all companies who manufacture, import and use them. Companies have 18 months to ensure that all relevant chemical substances and preparations are identified and pre-registered with a central European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki.
According to Roger Lowe, a member of the REACH team at Walker Morris, many chemical industry customers and investors regard early compliance with REACH as a sign of an efficient and well-run company.

“Those firms who have already made changes to their production methods and who have collated the necessary information to ensure full REACH compliance are in excellent position to capitalise on that position over the next year and a half. Customers will see them as a better, longer-term bet for business than those firms who are still struggling to be REACH-ready,” said Lowe

Walker Morris claims to be among the first law firms in the UK to be appointed to REACHMatchMaker -- a national panel established by the Chemicals Industries Association (CIA) to help companies prepare for REACH by putting them in touch with specialist advisers.

“REACH is a highly complex piece of legislation which will touch tens of thousands of companies in the UK, from manufacturers and importers of chemicals to companies that use chemical substances in their industrial or professional activities. This could be anyone from a building company or a motor repairer to a ball point pen manufacturer.”
REACH will be administered by the new European Chemicals Agency. It applies to all chemicals, whether standalone or used as ingredients in processes and to preparations, manufactured in the EU, or imported into the EU, in quantities greater than one tonne per year.

Under the new law, chemical companies will have a new range of legal responsibilities, including:-

· Registering all relevant chemicals with the European Chemicals Agency

· Testing the substance (unless sufficient safety data already exists)

· Preparing safety data sheets for the use of a chemical

· Sharing safety data with other companies in order to produce unified, industry-wide safety dossiers.

Downstream users of chemicals and preparations are advised to talk to their suppliers and determine whether the introduction of REACH will affect the supply of any chemicals necessary for the conduct of their business.

“With REACH’s requirement for the registration and pooling of data, it is especially important for all relevant businesses to identify the most commercially sensitive aspects of their chemical use, and decide how best to protect them. They may also need professional assistance to ensure that intellectual property is not compromised by the requirements of REACH,” Lowe concluded.