REACHing For Global Market Share By Regulatory Compliance

TÜVRheinland® has partnered with the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) to guide local manufacturers through the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) pre-registration and registration regulatory process. Through this arrangement, TÜVRheinland will represent manufacturers and exporters throughout Connecticut. REACH (EC 1907/2006) is the EU’s regulation on chemicals and their safe use in products sold on the European market. Its requirements oversee the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemical substances. “Exporters need to become fully aware of REACH and its impact if they are to sell directly in the European Union or to customers who export there,” warns CBIA Vice President and economist Peter Gioia. According to the organization, REACH regulation puts the onus on manufacturers to manage the risk of products containing chemical substances, in addition to provide safety information. Manufacturers and exporters alike are required to list chemical substances in their products and register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, Finland. “Due to the rush of last-minute pre-registration, it is important to start the process immediately,” says Geoffrey Bock, TÜVRheinland’s WEEE/RoHS services manager. “TÜVRheinland helps companies effectively deal with a number of REACH issues and requirements. Companies that do not comply with the European Union’s requirements effectively block their products from being sold into that market,” he continues. Manufacturers must pre-register if a product contains or is built with chemical substances released during usage, and if a certain number of metric tons of substances are exported each year. Additionally, Bock says that companies must pre-register if a product has at least one of 15 substances on the candidate list of substances of very high concern (SVHC). Coincidentally, a few of these chemicals are under close scrutiny in the U.S. as well, including dibutyl phthalate and benzyl butyl phthalate. At the core of its REACH services, TÜVRheinland helps companies confirm product eligibility for registration, collects and organizes required data, and submits the final pre-registration package to the ECHA. The company enters the substances into the ECHA database and then creates a report.