Time is running out to comply with Reach chemicals legislation

The clock is ticking

08 June 2009 00:00  [Source: ICB]

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is so concerned about industry not meeting its 2010 deadline for Reach data submission that it is launching an awareness campaign.

ECHA, which is in charge of implementing Reach, the EU's regulatory program for chemicals, said industry needs to act quickly to join the groups set up for manufacturers of the same substance, known as Substance Information Exchange Forums (SIEFs).

Geert Dancet, ECHA's executive director, unveiled a new motto: "The clock is ticking. Form your SIEF now."

In opening remarks at ECHA's Second Stakeholder Day in Helsinki, he said: "It's really important for the industry to take a lead role with Reach. We want all industry associations to put this banner on their home page."

Any high-tonnage manufacturer or importer of chemicals in Europe must join SIEFs, which will be responsible for submitting a dossier of substance data to ECHA by December 2010.

Companies whose SIEFs fail to meet the deadline will not be permitted to manufacture the substance if it is produced in quantities of over 1,000 tonnes/year. This deadline also applies to companies producing over one tonne/year of substances that are highly toxic.

There is a later deadline, of December 2013, for substances produced in 100-999 tonne quantities. The latest deadline is December 2018 for 1-99 tonne quantities.

ECHA said it is concerned that many SIEFs had not been formed, or were not functioning effectively. Many have large numbers of members - some have thousands - and there are concerns that communication is not effective between members.

From the sidelines of the conference, Dancet told ICIS news: "This campaign has been triggered by calls from the industry to help with raising awareness all over Europe. We have accepted this challenge in helping them, and we hope the whole industry will join us in spreading the news."

ECHA plans to contact European trade associations to urge them to use the motto on their websites, he added.

UN HITS OUT
The global chemical industry is not doing enough to help achieve the United Nations' goal of the safe production and consumption of chemicals by 2020, a leading figure in the organization said.

"With the exception of a few bold players there is still a casual sense of urgency," said Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme. "It is recognized by a number of companies and CEOs that more action is necessary, but it has not been translated into a sufficiently ambitious set of initiatives."

In an interview with ICIS on the sidelines of the Helsinki Chemicals Forum, Steiner said that he was putting a greater emphasis on multinational systems to set standards to implement regulatory frameworks. He said systems such as the Global Product Strategy - an industry initiative toward the 2020 goal - are a step in the right direction, but only if they had effective outcomes.

"The Global Product Strategy is not an end in itself unless there are firm outcomes beyond just the statement of intentions. It may not deliver because regulating to decide which chemicals [should be restricted] is not a private-sector decision: it's a public choice. An industry of competitors can't regulate itself," according to Steiner.

He said there needs to be greater cooperation between the private and public sector: "We need to reach a point where there can be agreement between the public and private sector on risk profiles and how we judge a chemical. This can't just be done by the industry, but by society through elected governments."

The recent International Conference on Chemicals Management in Geneva was a step in the right direction, he said. This brought industry and public-sector representatives together to discuss progress on the Strategic Approach to Chemicals Management - the program agreed to by both parties to work towards the 2020 goal.

By: Will Beacham
+44 20 8652 3214

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