REACH

The Council Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) has been described as the “most complex” piece of legislation in EU history”. Entering into force on 1 June 2007, the Regulation constitutes the basic law for any business concerning chemical substances in the European Union. It is meant to improve the protection of human health and the environment as well as the enhancement of innovation and competitiveness of the chemical industry in the EU. To that purpose, intrinsic properties of chemical substances shall be earlier and better identified. By the REACH-Regulation importers and manufacturers are required to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances and to register the information in a central database operated by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) based in Helsinki.

This handbook covers all the relevant issues from initial registration of chemical substances to the final enforcement of the obligations under the Regulation.

Content:

The content is structured as follows:

• Politics of REACH
• Scope of REACH
• Registration of Substances
• Status of non-Community Manufacturers and the Only Representatives
• Joint Submission
• Data Sharing in the Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF)
• Formation and Operation of Consortia
• Substances in Articles
• Information Requirements in the Supply Chain
• Downstream Users
• Classification and Labelling Inventory
• Evaluation
• Authorisation and Restriction
• Legal Actions and Appeals
• Enforcement
• REACH – A Business Strategy for Enterprises

Pros at a glance:

• Focus on the practice of REACH
• Comprehensive step-by-step description of the REACH-process

Editors and authors:

Dr Dieter Drohmann is Managing Director of Chemservice, specialised in the implementation of REACH; Matthew Townsend is partner of Allen Overy in London, in charge of the regulatory industries, including REACH. The editors are recognized practitioners experienced in the various fields of REACH and have been able to recruit high level REACH experts as authors from industry, law firms and authorities to adress this complex field of chemical control legislation.

Target group:

Importers and manufacturers of chemical substances, practicing lawyers and in-house councils