Environment Minister: How to protect your company from REACH

Environment Minister Huw Irranca-Davies claims that there is general support across industry for REACH, the controversial new chemical protection regulations, but, does concede that it will involve extra work and that many companies could be vulnerable to "unnecessary interruptions to production."  In a statement issued to SMEs , he advises: 

It is vital that you find out just how the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH)regulations could affect your business and take any required action before the 1st December 2008.

REACH is an EU regulation designed to provide improved protection for both human and environmental health from the use of potentially harmful chemicals. It means that those who buy, sell and use chemicals within Europe are responsible for understanding and managing the risks associated with their use.

Whatever your particular business is and whether it’s a large or small concern, these regulations have the potential to affect your operation. If you manufacture or import chemicals into the EU in quantities of over one tonne per year, you are likely to need to register these with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), based in Helsinki.

Most businesses use chemicals in some form, in fact many rely on them without even realising it. Even if you only use chemicals to keep your machinery operating and your premises clean, or you import finished products, or if you receive substances containing chemicals through a supplier and use them in an unusual way –it’s likely you’ll need to take some action under REACH.

Given the very wide scope of REACH, it is likely that almost every sector of UK business and industry will be affected in some way. We estimate that there are around 4.7 million small-medium businesses in the UK across all sectors of industry – you don’t have to be a mathematician to work out that this means a lot of companies are likely to be affected by the Regulations.

That is why it is essential that everyone takes the time to find out more and understand what needs to be done to comply. The pre-registration period was launched on 1 June, but by mid-September only 1207 businesses had taken advantage for this, which means that many more may still need to register their substances. Pre-registration closes on1 December, and it is in your interests to beat this deadline.

If you do, you and your business will be able to take advantage of the phased registration deadlines available over the next 10 years, and a reduction in your total registration costs.

It’s vital that you take action now to find out how the Regulations might affect you– including the substances you use, how exactly you use them, and who you rely on to supply them. If they apply to you but you don’t pre-register, you will instead have to register your substance(s) in full immediately after 1 December 2008 and stop their manufacture or import while you do this - as well as bearing the full cost of registration yourself.

There will be stiff penalties for those who don’t comply with the Regulation and continue operating in the usual way after 1 December. This will be in the form of costly fines and imprisonment.

You all know your business and understand what it means to trade within a competitive market. In these financially trying times I don’t want any UK business owners to put themselves at a commercial disadvantage, simply by not complying with these new regulations – which ultimately have been put in place to protect our health and the world around us.

In order to be eligible to pre-register, you’ll need to meet some criteria. Generally, your chemical needs to be on the ‘existing substances’ list of the European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (EINECS), which means it must also have been placed on the European market before 1981. Specific guidance on this can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/reach

Pre-registration is a free and simple process, and involves providing ECHA with some basic information on the substance(s) you are manufacturing or importing, the quantities involved, and the contact details of your company’s REACH person (and the name of a third party if you appoint someone).

You will also need to be aware of the makeup of products you use. This includes substances you use and all the ingredients of any preparations (that is, mixtures). If you produce finished products you’ll need to find out if there are any substances intended for release within these that exceed a total quantity of one tonne per year.

Once pre-registration has taken place, the European Chemicals Agency will identify who has pre-registered the same substance and put them in contact with each other. The potential registrants can then come together and form a 'Substance Information Exchange Forum’ (SIEF) where they can negotiate sharing their available data and the costs of generating any new data for a joint substance registration dossier. Registration costs themselves are also reduced through this collaborative process.

How you might be affected

If your business purchases substances from a supplier, you will need to look at what you use and how you use it. If you use a chemical in an unusual way, you might need to let your supplier know, because they will need this information for their registration.

Generally, if you are using chemicals or mixtures of chemicals (such as paint, lubricants, cleaning agents) in the way that is expected, then REACH probably won’t mean significant changes for you. However, if you use unusual chemicals, it also makes sense to contact your supplier to check their plans for supplying this chemical in the future.

Substances that you may use every day may need to be registered: for example those used to keep machinery operating and to clean premises; formulators of preparations (like paints, glues, detergents, plastics or rubbers); users of chemicals (like oils, lubricants, antifoams) in industrial processes; professional users (like car repair shops and cleaners) or producers of articles (like electronic components, computers, toys or cars).