On 20 September 2011 a Report was issued from the Directors’ Contact Group between Commission, ECHA & Industry Associations on Meeting the 1st REACH Registration Deadline. The first deadline period was from FEB 2011 to MAR 2011.
The Notes and summary of the Report are repeated below:
Notes:
The report is written with a multiplicity of audiences in mind. First and foremost it is intended to inform the Management Board of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the Competent Authorities on REACH And Classification And Labeling (CARACAL) of the work of the DCG. It is though also intended to provide a transparent account to other interested parties, in particular national and EU industry organisations and their members, non governmental organisations representing workers, consumers and the environment and similar organisations in third countries interested in REACH and CLP.
This report has been agreed by the members of the Directors’ Contact Group.
Summary
The adoption of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council on 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) marked a milestone in the modernisation of the European chemicals legislation. REACH is widely recognised as being the most ambitious and comprehensive piece of chemicals legislation in the world.
REACH set 30 November 2010 as the deadline for all manufacturers and importers of high volume substances and substances of particular concern to register their chemicals, thus subjecting a large proportion of the volume of chemicals on the EU market to the REACH rules.
Recognising that fulfilling the REACH requirements by this deadline would present significant challenges to industry, the Commission invited six industry organisations and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to nominate members to and thereby set up the Directors’ Contact Group (DCG). The purpose of the DCG was to monitor progress towards meeting the first registration deadline and to reduce practical obstacles to registration identified by industry.
In the course of 2010 the DCG identified and addressed in total 28 issues, contributing to the successful completion of registration by the first deadline. The practical co-operation between the Commission, ECHA and industry associations therefore proved successful, demonstrating that obstacles to registration can be reduced. This clear learning from the efforts in 2010 made the Commission decide to continue the work of the DCG with the aim of continuing the registration success story through the next major registration deadline of 31 May 2013.