Companies of all sizes are responsible for the safety of chemicals that they place on the EU market. Recent surveys and checks by inspectors show that many small companies using chemicals are still unaware of REACH and CLP or may think that the EU’s chemical law does not apply to their business. The leaflet “Chemical Safety...

The Irish Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has produced an information sheet which outlines the key responsibilities for EU importers of chemical substances and mixtures under the REACH, CLP and Rotterdam Regulations, for which the HSA is the relevant Competent Authority in Ireland. Import means the physical introduction into the customs territory of the EU....

Chemicals intended for ‘product and process orientated research and development (PPORD)’ can be exempted from the obligation to register for five years. Chemicals used in scientific development related to product and process innovation or further development of a substance may fall under the PPORDs definition. However, a substance used in a PPORD activity must not...

The Eco-innovation initiative bridges the gap between research and the market. It helps good ideas for innovative products, services and processes that protect the environment become fully-fledged commercial prospects, ready for use by business and industry.  One interesting project recognizes REACH requirements relating to Chromium due to come into force in a few years time:...

How important would it be to your business if certain key raw materials were no longer available to you? Would your business be viable or what would you do if your product range decreased dramatically due to the regulations governing the manufacture and application of products? (eg. from from 26 products supplied to many clients...

REACH is widely regarded as expensive by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The overall (direct) cost estimates of REACH specified in the 29 October 2003 Impact Assessment turned out to be an underestimate by nearly one half. By 2012 the difference added up to around EUR 1 billion; by 2018 this might have gone...

There are a number of important deadlines relating to the Registration and Authorisation of chemicals happening under REACH, the EU chemicals Regulation during 2013. Irish companies in the business of manufacturing, importing or using chemicals may need to act ahead of these deadlines to ensure their business activities can continue.  Second Registration deadline – May...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has conducted a new IT-based screen ing of all REACH intermediate registration dossiers, which has raised serious quality and potential compliance concerns. The concerned registrants have been directly informed via REACH-IT and are requested to review and update their dossiers with correct information over the next three months. After this...

REACH is the European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances. The law entered into force on 1 June 2007. The REACH Regulation places greater responsibility on industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the...

The use and marketing of certain dangerous chemicals will (for the first time) be subject to the first elements of a prior approval system as early as February 2013. This system known as Authorisation under REACH requires companies using listed chemicals to apply to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in order to continue to use...