REACH program to require

 Beginning June 1, European Union regulations will require chemical producers to register their products with the new European Chemical Agency in Helsinki , Finland . The agency can ban chemicals it considers to be significant health risks.

REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) will replace 40 existing legal acts and create a single system. It covers some 30,000 chemicals in use. The registration process will occur over an 11-year period.

REACH will require manufacturers and importers to gather comprehensive information on the properties of all substances produced or imported in quantities higher than 1 ton per year and to submit the necessary information to demonstrate their safe use to the European Chemical Agency.

{sidebar id=1}

The purpose of the REACH system is to encourage companies to switch to safer alternatives.