Help is within REACH
February 1st 2007

The Health and Safety Executive has set up a helpdesk to support UK businesses in the run-up to the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulations. REACH aims to make the people who place chemicals on the market (mainly manufacturers and importers) responsible for understanding and managing the risks associated with their use. Nicola Scott of JPD Group explains more

REACH is aimed at simplifying the control of chemicals in the European marketplace. It replaces a patchwork of European Directives with a single system. Different types of chemicals are considered in different ways by the legislation; some are exempt, because they are already covered by specific laws.

In October, Defra nominated HSE to be the UK Competent Authority (CA) for REACH, working closely with the Environment Agency, and others to manage key aspects of the REACH system in the UK. The CA main role is to ensure a high level of protection for human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals. The CA will have a number of responsibilities:

• Provide a Helpdesk for (national) duty holders and other stakeholders under REACH
• Enforce compliance with Registration, at least reactively in response to whistle-blowing
• Evaluate substances and suggest to relevant EU REACH committees appropriate regulatory consequences (e.g.

  Classification & Labelling, restrictions on use)

• Nominate candidates to sit on the various EU REACH decision-making committees and provide support for such people in their performing of such roles
• Liaise as appropriate with relevant enforcing organisations in relation to 'downstream' responsibilities under REACH, e.g. the implementation by users of the risk management measures designated by suppliers; the adherence to restrictions or Authorisation.

The proposed Regulation aims to address a number of serious short-comings in the current legislation. These include: the lack of available information on risks to human health and the environment for the majority of chemical substances on the EU market; the slow and resourceintensive nature of the current system; transferring responsibility for the assessment of chemicals from the regulatory authorities to industry; the distortions of the internal market inherent in the current fragmented legislative regime.

Under the REACH proposals, chemicals produced or imported in quantities over 1t will have to be registered with a new European Chemicals Agency. Industry will have to document the uses of these substances, evaluate any risks and recommend risk management actions in chemical safety reports. These must be transmitted down the supply chain and users should adopt these safety measures to reduce risks for workers, consumers and the environment. Certain high-risk substances will require authorisation from the European Chemicals Agency for specific uses to continue, and the use of some substances may be restricted.

Member States achieved political agreement on the long running negotiations on REACH proposals, the new chemicals regulation, at the Competitiveness Council in December. It paves the way for the Council and the European Parliament to deliver a final joint agreement. The agreements are understood to 'offer the opportunity to achieve proper protection of humans and the environment whilst maintaining the competitiveness of European industry' according to Lord Bach, who represented the UK in the negotiations.

Lord Sainsbury, who chaired the Council, said "REACH will provide the tools necessary to provide detailed information on some 30 000 substances used in the EU, while strengthening the controls covering the substances of most concern. This will allow for a huge leap forward in our awareness of the impact of chemicals and other substances and so ensuring the highest level of protection for European citizens. At the same time, the changes made by the Council significantly reduce the burden on SMEs and put further measures in place to encourage data sharing and minimise testing." The key changes agreed by the Council to the Commission's original proposal are: Registration

• Reduced information requirements on 1-10t substances, except for substances presenting clear risks (e.g. classified as dangerous and having a wide dispersive use in consumer applications)
• Increased scope for waiving of tests for 10-100t substances on grounds of minimal exposure
• Requirement for registrants of same substance to share core data, allowing costs to be spread and duplicate testing avoided.

Evaluation: New EU chemicals Agency given responsibility for co-ordinating and driving forward dossier and substance evaluation.

Authorisation: All authorisations to be subject to review; encouragement for companies to seek safer alternatives Scope: Waste exempted entirely from REACH Minerals, ores, concentrates and several other substances and categories of substance exempted from registration and evaluation. Commission to review scope of registration and evaluation (annexes II and III) within 12 months of REACH implementation Downstream users: Potential requirement to produce a chemical safety report limited to substances used by a downstream user above 1t per year.

Both the Council and Parliament voted to strengthen authorisation. Parliament has gone further by requiring 5 year reviews for all authorisations (the Council proposes reviews be set on a case-by-case basis), and by providing greater restrictions on the possibility of substances being authorised on the basis of adequate control.

For more information, contact the HSE helpdesk on 0845 408 9575 or via email at ukreachca@hse.gsi.gov.uk Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk