REACH: EU urges industry to pre-register all chemicals by 1 December

Brussels - Tthe European Commission and European Chemicals Agency ECHA are alerting tens of thousands of manufacturers or importers of chemicals they they will soon have to pre-register chemicals under the (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) legislation, which comes into effect on 1 June. The alert reflects EC concern that many companies are not aware of their obligations or the specific requirements of REACH, especially suppliers that are not directly involved in the chemicals sector.

Under REACH, some 30,000 products such as acids, metals, solvents, surfactants and adhesives have to be pre-registered at the ECHA between 1 June and 1 Dec, if they want to continue manufacturing or importing them after that deadline. The EC estimates that over 180,000 pre-registration files will be submitted in the pre-registration process, which will enable companies to share data on the safety of their chemicals-based products.

"We will soon enter the crucial stage of pre-registration, and we strongly encourage every manufacturer and importer of chemicals, to pre-register as soon as possible. To be safe, please do not miss the deadline of 1 December 2008," said vice-president Günter Verheugen, responsible for Enterprise and Industry policy and Environment Commissioner, Stravros Dimas in a joint statement.

According to the EC, all EU-based companies that manufacture in, or import chemical substances into the EU should pre-register if the quantities of the substance are one tonne or more per year. Pre-registration is needed if manufacturers or importers are to benefit from the extended registration deadlines which apply to most chemicals that are currently on the market; allowing companies to submit their complete registration dossiers by 2010, 2013 or 2018, depending on the case.