REACH Regulation To Come Into Force

The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation (EC 1907/2006) will come into force on 1 June 2007. Notably, as a Regulation and not a Directive, REACH will not require national transposing legislation to be implemented and will have direct effect from June. REACH will affect manufacturers, importers and downstream users of chemicals.

REACH will transfer the burden of proof for demonstrating the safe use of chemicals from EU Member States to industry. Manufacturers and importers of chemicals in volumes of over 1 tonne per year will be required to register each chemical in a central database. Failure to register will mean a chemical cannot be manufactured or imported into the EU market.