EU REACH regulations

REACH certification

“Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals; Chemical Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction”. This is the European Union's preventive management of all chemicals entering its market. It was officially implemented on June 1, 2007.

The European Union's "Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals Regulations" (REACH Regulation) has been fully implemented on June 1, 2007.  REACH is a unified set of chemicals management regulations, involving about 30,000 chemical substances. Its main contents are as follows:

â—Ž All "existing" or "new" chemical substances whose annual production or import volume reaches or exceeds 1 ton must be registered 
â—Ž Enhance the flow of information in the supply chain through safety data sheets (SDS) 
â—Ž Evaluate some registered substances 
â—Ž The use and placing on the market of substances of very high concern (SVHC) must be approved 
â—Ž Restrictions on unacceptable substances 
â—Ž Establish a Chemicals Administration (ECHA) to manage the entire system

REACH covers almost all products exported to the EU (except food, drugs and pesticides). In response to the requirements of REACH  regulations, all links in the supply chain need to bear corresponding obligations:

â—Ž Chemical suppliers: convey chemical information and provide SDS 
â—Ž Raw material suppliers: collect chemical information, transmit chemical information, check whether there is SVHC 
â—Ž Non-EU article manufacturers: collect chemical information, transmit chemical information, pre-register as required, and notify existing SVHC 
â—Ž Brand owners: Pre-register as required, collect/notify existing SVHCs, collect SDS for preparation, report calculations, and prove loyalty 
â—Ž Retailers: Pre-register as required, collect/notify existing SVHCs, collect SDS for preparation, report calculations, and prove loyalty

According to Chapter 57 of the EU REACH Regulation, the SVHC of substances of high concern is:
â—Ž Carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction
â—Ž Persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity
â—Ž High persistence, high bioaccumulation
â—Ž Substances with equivalent effects (such as endocrine disruptors)