European chemical industry receives ultimatum

November 30 is the deadline for the registration of chemicals in the first phase of the REACH Regulation, and the deadline for notification under another EU chemical regulation, the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) Regulations for Chemicals, is also approaching. Last week, the European Commission issued an ultimatum to the European chemical industry to remind companies to speed up the process. The industrial sector is also making tight arrangements to strive to meet its obligations on time.

Registration must be tightened

The European Commission reminded relevant companies last week that it was less than 12 weeks before the deadline to register the most widely used or most dangerous chemicals. The company must submit electronic files through the REACH-IT tool as soon as possible. The company also needs to reclassify the chemicals it sells according to the CLP before December 1, and inform the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) before January 3, 2011.

At the press conference on the progress of REACH registration in Brussels recently, the European Chemicals Commission (CEFIC)** Christian Jourquin said: “The industry has been actively involved in REACH, a law that affects tens of thousands of chemical substances. The formulation and implementation of chemical companies are doing their utmost to achieve the final sprint in accordance with REACH requirements."

Antonio Tajani, Deputy Commissioner of the European Commission, said: “Though these requirements are very harsh for the company, they are also investing. The implementation of the REACH regulation can promote the European chemical industry to play a global role. The European chemical industry will see more innovative products, and European citizens can also get more employment opportunities in a cleaner, healthier environment."

As of September 10, about 4,000 registration materials have been submitted to ECHA. The European Commission encourages leading companies to register before September 30th to allow them time to solve the follow-up issues and provide sufficient time for other companies to complete by the end of November. registered.

Popular regulations are of great significance

The European Trade Union (ETUC) and the European Union of Mines, Chemicals and Energy Workers (EMCEF) and the National Trade Organization are also currently implementing a campaign aimed at bringing relevant companies to understand the responsibilities of the new EU chemicals legislation and the implementation schedule. . The two European Union plans to raise the awareness of corporate managers on REACH and CLP through all their member organizations and thousands of European company representatives.

Tony Musu, an ETUC Senior Fellow and member of the ECHA Management Committee, is concerned that some European companies are still not aware of their obligations under the new EU chemicals legislation. "I think most companies don't know about these two regulations, and they don't know that deadlines are coming. They also ignore the serious consequences that non-compliance with these laws and regulations may bring to the company. They hope that workers' representatives can notify corporate managers." "Musu said.

The Deputy Secretary-General of ETUC stated that the successful implementation of these new chemical regulations will not only help the European chemical industry to improve its global competitiveness, but also better protect workers, consumers and the environment. “The campaign also expects to convey a message that REACH has a positive effect on the safety and health of the work environment in order to better control the risks of chemicals. Chemicals cause many occupational diseases in the workplace. The European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health estimates Every year, 74,000 workers in Europe die of dangerous chemicals in the workplace. We have supported the REACH regulation from the very beginning and we believe that this will improve the working environment,” Mussue added.

ECHA Executive Director Geert Dancet strongly supported the campaign: “We very much welcome the initiative from ETUC. It is a big challenge for all companies to understand that their responsibilities for the new chemicals legislation are enormous. We are here to help. The trade associations and union members who disseminate this information express their gratitude."

SMEs should be valued

CEFIC stated that under the close cooperation of Europe's 450 billion euro chemical industry, the European Commission and ECHA have assisted companies in solving many problems related to REACH registration. A working group consisting of the European Commission’s top management, ECHA and industry associations has been working hard to make the registration process easier. The ECHA has also issued detailed guidelines for registration in 22 EU languages. However, the current problem is that manufacturers cannot afford the expensive registration fees brought about by a series of unprecedented requirements and the amount of time it takes. This is especially true for SMEs because they lack the relevant expertise to complete complex registration procedures.

ECHA stated that the efforts of the industry are obvious to all. The deadline is coming. To complete the registration, companies must share chemical data in the substance information exchange forum. This is a challenging task. Hubert Mandery, director general of CEFIC, said: “In addition to resource issues, the heavy cost burden has touched the bottom line of SMEs, and these companies account for more than 90% of all chemical companies. Should be given great attention, because the next two low tonnage substances registration phase will greatly increase their burden.For industry, REACH should be feasible, practical and economically affordable.In addition, we hope that Seeing that European legislation relating to chemical substances is consistent with REACH to reduce the burden on companies."

ECHA also pointed out that the registration process not only affects the chemical industry, but also involves some related industries such as metal or textile manufacturers. These chemical users who rely on the market supply must carefully consider the supplier's recommendations for improving safety after chemical registration, and perform risk assessments on their own in certain specific situations.