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REACH regulation

Abbreviation
REACH
Also known as
Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, ECHA registration

REACH is the European Union's main chemicals regulation. Short for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, it requires companies that make or import a substance in the EU in quantities of one metric ton or more per year to register it with the European Chemicals Agency.

What is REACH?

REACH, Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, came into force in 2007. Its name stands for the four processes it covers: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It places responsibility on industry to understand and manage the risks of the chemicals it places on the EU market, summed up in the principle “no data, no market.”

REACH is administered by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), based in Helsinki.

Registration

A company that manufactures or imports a substance in the EU in quantities of one metric ton or more per year must register it with ECHA. Registration requires a dossier of information on the substance’s properties, uses and hazards, including data on toxicity, aquatic toxicity and biodegradability, for example from OECD 301 testing. The amount of data required rises with the volume registered.

Companies registering the same substance share data and submit jointly. Manufacturers outside the EU can appoint an EU-based only representative to register on their behalf, so that their customers do not have to.

Evaluation, authorisation and restriction

  • Evaluation. ECHA and EU member states check registration dossiers and can require further information on substances of concern.
  • Authorisation. Substances of very high concern can be placed on a list requiring specific authorization for each use.
  • Restriction. The EU can limit or ban the manufacture, sale or use of substances that pose unacceptable risks.

REACH outside the EU

After leaving the EU, the United Kingdom established its own parallel system, UK REACH. Other countries have adopted similar registration frameworks. The U.S. counterpart is the Toxic Substances Control Act.

REACH at Locus

Locus has announced REACH registrations for its sophorolipid biosurfactant ingredients, allowing them to be supplied to formulators in the European Union.

Frequently asked questions

Companies that manufacture a substance in the EU, or import it into the EU, in quantities of one metric ton or more per year. Non-EU manufacturers can register through an EU-based only representative.

The European Chemicals Agency, the EU body that manages REACH registrations and related processes.

  • Toxic Substances Control Act TSCA

    The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is the main U.S. federal law regulating industrial chemicals. It gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to review new chemicals before they are made or imported, maintain the TSCA Inventory of chemicals in commerce, and restrict chemicals that pose unreasonable risk.

  • OECD 301

    OECD 301 is a set of six standardized laboratory tests, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, used to determine whether a chemical is readily biodegradable. A substance passes by reaching a set level of breakdown within 28 days.

  • Aquatic toxicity

    Aquatic toxicity is the harmful effect of a substance on aquatic organisms such as fish, invertebrates and algae. It is measured in standardized laboratory tests and reported as values such as LC50 and EC50, the concentrations that affect half of the test organisms.

Sources

  1. Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH), European Parliament and Council
  2. Understanding REACH, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)