Environment Minister Phil Woolas has warned that many firms should be preparing for an important new stage in chemicals management, namely the pre-registration process under Regulation EC 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).
REACH will not only affect businesses which deal in large quantities of chemical products, but also others who use chemicals to keep machinery operating and premises clean. It may also affect companies who import products such as cars or batteries, or receive substances containing chemicals through a supplier.
Under REACH, chemicals manufactured or imported into the EU in quantities of over one tonne need to be registered with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). This process started with the pre-registration period, which runs between 1 June and 1 December 2008, and involves firms providing the ECHA free of charge with some basic information on the substances they are manufacturing or importing and the quantities involved.
In order to be able to pre-register, firms will generally need to have their chemical(s) on the "existing substances" list of the European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances, which means it must have been placed on the European market before 1981.
Firms who take part in the pre-registration process will qualify for the staggered registration deadlines after 1 December 2008, giving them longer to fully register.
In addition, firms who fail to pre-register will need to fully register their substance immediately after 1 December 2008 and stop its manufacture or import while this is done.
