Welcome to the May edition of The REACH Centre newsletter.

It is now almost two years since the REACH legislation entered into force, and the legislation means companies are now having to deal with working in SIEFs, with registration deadlines for some as early as next year.

The REACH Centre can help your company work in any SIEF, guide you through the minefield of REACH compliance or assist with SVHC testing.

Find out more about us by visiting our website. We hope you find this newsletter useful, and if it raises any issues for you, please get in touch.

REACH-EN-FORCE-1, a joint REACH enforcement project, has started in the EU and EEA.

National inspectors are checking pre-registrations, registrations and where applicable, the provisions for Safety Data Sheets.

The project is intended to give a first impression of the level of compliance by manufacturers and importers (including Only Representatives) with REACH. During the project, the capacity of enforcement authorities (in the UK, the Health & Safety Executive) will be enhanced.

The enforcement project of the Forum enforces the core principle of REACH: no data, no market. Inspectors in the participating countries will focus on the phase-in substances (existing substances) and check through inspections whether companies have submitted a pre-registration or a registration and, where necessary, whether a Safety Data Sheet has been supplied.

Source: European Chemicals Agency

The European Commission is considering with industry how REACH registration numbers should be applied and communicated down the supply chain. The move follows concerns by industry over confidentiality implications, especially for complex preparations. The last four digits of the registration number indicate which member of a joint registration submission it applies to, and companies believe this could make it fairly easy for others to use this system to work out identities and work out which suppliers are linked to downstream users, which is sensitive market information.

Industry is also concerned about the large administrative burden that could be caused by current guidance that requires registration numbers to be listed on Safety Data Sheets for preparations; downstream users that vary their suppliers regularly will be most affected.

ECHA and the EC have made several proposals in order to resolve these issues. One suggestion is that registration numbers be placed in an annex to the Safety Data Sheet, in order that the main body can stay unchanged. The Downstream Users of Chemicals Coordination group (DUCC) has suggested dropping the last four digits altogether. The European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) has proposed a solution which involves companies encrypting the final four digits of their registration number and making the information available to enforcing authorities when required.

Industry has proposed all options are considered seriously during the ongoing revision of Annex II of REACH and updating of the guidance. The Commission proposed that a fast track working group be formed in order to find a solution by the time of the next Competent Authorities meeting, scheduled for June.

REACH news in brief

• ECHA publishes top tips for working in SIEFS
  • ECHA has published a REACH fact sheets providing registrants with top tips on how to get started working in SIEFs - and has also reminded companies that SIEFs and independent and not 'owned' by ECHA. Click here to view the fact sheet.
• European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström calls for a new high level UN panel to tackle the risks from chemicals
  • At the opening event of ECHAs new conference centre in Helsinki, the European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström, considered one of the architects of REACH, called for a new high level UN panel to tackle the risks from chemicals in the same way that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is doing for climate change. This could result ultimately in global harmonisation of REACH (type) procedures.

SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) are a diverse group of substances that have been placed in a ‘Candidate List’ for authorisation by the ECHA because of their particularly hazardous properties. Due to the specific hazards associated with these chemicals REACH imposes controls on them over and above those that apply to standard chemicals. On the 28th October 2008 the ECHA published the first version of the ‘Candidate List’ containing 15 SVHCs. The list will be regularly updated, with more substances to be added over time.

Click here to download an SVHC information sheet containing the candidate list and more details of the Authorisation process

The SVHC aspect of REACH potentially affects a very large number of companies, as the definition of "article supplier" includes article producers, importers and distributors, as well as retailers who sell to the general public.

The candidate list will get progressively longer, and ultimately those substances on the list will end up being subject to authorisation. The ultimate aim of authorisation is to ensure that these substances are progressively substituted by alternative substances or technologies. So now is the time to think about assessing your product portfolio and educating your supply chain so that you can start thinking about substitutions.

Our team of REACH experts can advise you on how best to manage your SVHC compliance.

Visit us at Chemspec, Barcelona, 17th-18th June: stand E30

Staff from The REACH Centre will be attending the Chemspec exhibition at the Gran Via Exhibition Centre in Barcelona, Spain on the 17th-18th June. Chemspec is the only dedicated fine and speciality chemicals event in Europe and attracts attendees from Blue Chip and SMEs from around the globe.

Our REACH team will be on hand to discuss REACH and how it can affect your business, and show how The REACH Centre could help your organisation to become REACH compliant. If you would like to book an appointment to talk to us at our stand, please email enquiries@thereachcentre.com.

Dr Kath Carr joins The REACH Centre

Kath holds a Ph.D in chemistry from the University of Manchester and has 18 years’ industrial research experience. During this time she worked for ICI, Zeneca, Avecia and Merck. Her areas of technical expertise include general organic chemistry, colour chemistry, effect chemicals for high security applications, and organic semiconductors for photovoltaic devices. Much of her work has been undertaken in interdisciplinary teams and has involved collaborations with partners from both industry and academia. More recently, as a private consultant, she has created bespoke scientific reviews for clients across the chemical sector. In addition to her technical expertise, Kath has considerable experience managing scientific projects and is PRINCE2 qualified. She joined The REACH Centre in March 2009.

Kath is now working as Projects Manager within the company, coordinating a number of divisions within the business including Data Acquisition and Management, SIEF and Consortia management, and testing services.

Training and education surrounding REACH legislation is vitally important to ensure organisations get it right with minimal expense and upheaval. We offer a wide selection of training solutions ranging from REACH workshops through to bespoke programmes.

NEW: Postgraduate Certificate of Competence in REACH Registration

Lancaster University is offering a unique masters level course covering all aspects of REACH in 3 structured modules delivered by world leading regulatory, scientific and technical experts, starting on 7th July 2009.

The course has been developed by Lancaster University's Centre for Chemicals Management, part of Europe's largest Environmental Research Centre.

This course will provide delegates with all the necessary capabilities to achieve REACH compliance.

For more information contact Mark Cooling on t: 01524 510298 e: m.cooling@lancaster.ac.uk

Read more [PDF] :: Visit the CCM website for more information

Data Search & Retrieval for REACH Registration

Date - Thursday 25th June 2009
Venue - Lancaster University Campus
Cost - £145 + VAT per person

REACH registration requires a vast amount of data to be collected, managed and input to the dossier. Data acquisition can be a time consuming and costly activity. This interactive workshop will give delegates the opportunity to discuss the major issues and learn the most effective ways to search and retrieve the necessary data for REACH registration.

Read more [PDF] :: Booking form

IUCLID 5 - practical introduction

Date - Thursday 16th July 2009
Venue - Lancaster University Campus
Cost - £445 per person

The day focuses on hands-on experience in applying IUCLID5 in line with REACH. IUCLID5 (International Uniform Chemical Information Database) is the official tool for data collection in relation to REACH and is essential for those looking to successfully register in line with REACH. The workshop will cover all the main aspects of IUCLID5 and give you the chance to become familiar with the software and how it can be used most effectively.

The workshop is delivered by experienced IUCLID5 trainers. It is limited to 10 participants to provide the optimum interactive experience.

Read more [PDF] :: Booking form

More dates will be announced soon. You can find the latest courses listed on the training page on our website.

Bespoke training

If you cannot travel to our training events, we can travel to you. We offer bespoke training packages and REACH consultancy for companies, and we also offer online REACH training. Find out more at www.thereachcentre.com

The REACH Centre also provides IUCLID5 training tailored to your needs. For more information, please contact Matteo Dalla Valle.

Don’t forget The REACH Centre offers a wide range of REACH services. To find out more, visit our website.