Regulatory Compliance

REACH Regulation

REACH is the European Chemicals Regulation which stands for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, applied to all chemicals. It came into force on June 1, 2007.

This regulation aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment while maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the EU Chemical Industry. It applies to all substances on their own or contained in preparations or in articles.

Main steps of REACH process

• Registration of all chemical substances: by 2018, every chemical substance manufactured/imported/used in quantities at over 1 tonne per year in the European Union will have to be registered in a central database managed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), established in Finland. Data requirements and deadlines for submission are directly dependent on the tonnage per year and the level of risk of the substance manufactured/imported.
• Evaluation of the registration dossier including compliance check of the dossier and its content to all requirements and evaluation of substances.
• REACH introduces an authorization procedure for substances classified with more specific characteristics (Carcinogen, Mutagen and Reprotoxic (CMR) category 1 or 2 or Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) or very Persistent very Bioaccumulative (vPvB) that will be granted for a limited period of time fixed on a case-by-case basis.
• REACH foresees a restriction process to regulate within the EU territory the manufacture, placing on the market or specific uses for certain substances which present a risk considered as unacceptable to human health and/or the environment.

Albemarle has REACHed its 2010 compliance objective.

Albemarle has passed the first REACH registration of 30/11/2010 for substances:

• Imported/manufactured in quantities over 1000 metric tons per year;
• Classified as R50/53 (Very Toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment) over 100 metric tons per year;
• Classified as Carcinogen, Mutagen and Reprotoxic (CMR) category 1 or 2 or Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) or very Persistent very Bioaccumulative (vPvB) over 1 metric ton per year.

Albemarle was lead registrant for 11 dossiers and filed 28 other dossiers.

This successful registration is not the end but the beginning of further REACH duties. In the coming weeks, months and years, Albemarle will continue to put a lot of emphasis on our relationship with all stakeholders in the supply chain but also with our Industry partners to meet new and additional requirements with preparation for next waves registrations.

On top of that and in addition to REACH, the regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of chemicals substances and mixtures, which implements the UN Globally Harmonized System (GHS) at EU level, has been implemented by the same deadline of December 2010.

Albemarle is preparing all the corresponding hazard communication documents for the supply chain.