REACH
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REACH is EU's new chemicals legislation. REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals. The law was in effect as of June 2007. Act mean that all chemicals above 1 tonne in volume and which is either produced in the EU or imported are to be tested in terms of health and environmental aspects. The chemical must also be registered at the new European Chemicals Agency, ECHA, in Helsinki. For some particularly toxic chemicals, the rules, regardless of volume, and other highly toxic chemicals requires special permission from the European Chemicals Agency (eg,carcinogens). Unlike the older EU legislation REACH applies to all chemicals, both old and new. In order to facilitate navigation of the REACH Regulation a file is attached as working material. The file is updated with additions and links to various articles and external directives etc. There are also some comments posted.
Chemicals in textiles and REACH
The new EU chemicals legislation, REACH, covers rules for the use of individual chemicals as well as chemical substances, both as components of chemical products and goods. Mainly REACH regulates substances and preparations (mixtures of substances) but also goods (eg textiles) containing dangerous substances. One thing to think of when making a registration of substances and preparations are that, we must also assess how the substances used in products affect the next and also the end user.
In addition, substances in products (chemicals in textiles) are also affected according to the following points:
Limitation - REACH will take over and cover the whole of the current so-called Limitations Directive 76/769/EC as from 1 June 2009. New restrictions will also be introduced to prohibit and restrict dangerous goods on the market. The references to the Limitations Directive are in other words active to 31 May 2009. The directive correspond with Swedish legislation KIFS 2008:02.
Registration - Registration of substances released by the goods is required if the substance is intended to be released under normal or reasonably foreseeable use conditions. The requirements apply only if the amount of the substance exceeds 1 tonne per manufacturer / importer per year and if not previously registered for the same use.
Notification - In the case of particularly hazardous substances in articles (substances that are known on the so called candidate list), the manufacturer / importer has to file a notification (no registration) to the agency if the concentration of the substance exceeds 0.1 weight percent. ECHA is then entitled to ask for full registration.
Pre-registration must be made no later than 1 December 2008, all subjects.
Consumer Information - Consumers have the right to request, within 45 days, to get information about the chemical content and safe use of a product. Each supplier has a duty to inform a consumer within 40 days after the request for a so-called Candidate Topic presents in a concentration above 0.1 wt%.
Candidate List – The so called candidate list containing substances that are especially dangerous, so-called SVHC substances, are written by the EU and will be continuously updated with new topics. Currently the list have 15 substances, see the EU-link.
Chemsec is an international secretariat working for a non-toxic environment. They have among other things, published a list of candidates for the candidate list, see external link below.
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