Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation (EU Regulation 1907/2006)

The above Regulation, known as REACH, places a number of requirements on the manufacturers and users of chemicals in the European Community. All chemicals manufactured in, or imported into, the European Community will have a registration obligation unless subject to stated exemptions.

The general tenets of the Regulation are:

(i) the pre-registration of 'phase-in' substances in the period 1 June – 1 December 2008, and
(ii) the registration of chemicals in well-defined bands according to tonnage and hazard:

(a) by 30 November 2010 for substances manufactured or imported in quantities greater than 1,000 tonnes per year, per legal entity, and also substances classified with specific defined hazards;
(b) by 31 May 2013 for substances manufactured or imported in quantities between 100 and 1,000 tonnes per year, per legal entity;
(c) by 31 May 2018 for substances manufactured or imported in quantities between 1 and 100 tonnes per year, per legal entity.

Registration is to be made with the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki.

The Regulation also requires the compilation of a Chemical Safety Report for substances manufactured in quantities above 10 tonnes per year, per legal entity.

Readers are advised to consult the Regulation and the number of guidance documents available from the Agency.

The position of products manufactured by INEOS Chlor and INEOS Vinyls are given here. A list of pre-registered substances is also given for these legal entities.