The current registration process, in which you must register every product
you make with the European Chemicals Agency (ECA), covers nearly 30,000
substances. Of these, 2,500 are likely to be hazardous to human health or the
environment and will have to undergo continued testing to show that they
can be used safely. Over the next dozen years, however, as many as 100,000
existing substances will be subject to REACH evaluation, authorization, and,
in many cases, restriction. Ultimately, the ECA estimates that a total of 150,000
to 200,000 substances will be registered, though some authorities put that
number much higher, going so far as to suggest that there will be half a mil-
lion applications for approval.Who REACH affects
American companies under the impression that they will not be affected by
this law because it derives from EU legislation are sorely mistaken. If you are
one of them, you would do well to adjust your attitude immediately. In fact,
REACH should assume the status of a critical business matter that will affect
the operations of your company, your vendors, and your customers across
whole enterprises.REACH is so important that Robert Matthews, a REACH authority and partner
in the Washington-based law firm McKenna, Long & Aldridge, has recom-
mended that industry executives “elevate REACH compliance from the envi-
ronment, health, and safety departments in [their] firms to the level of a
business development-unit reporting directly to the company president.”
Recently, Dupont assigned top-level executives to manage REACH compliance
and processes — an indication of how serious and important this issue is to
businesses today.Figure 12-1:
The EU’s
REACH site
provides
compliance
information.