Since the 1st of june 2007 Regulation (CE) n° 1907/2006 (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) – more commonly known as “REACH” – has come into force and it rules the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of use of all the chemical substances present in Europe.
Every European manufacturer or importer exceeding one ton per year of a chemical substance is required to register it to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
Without registration by May 2018, a substance cannot be either manufactured or imported in Europe.
This legislation is very important because it guarantees high safety levels for humans and environment, but its costs, proportioned to the tonnage and the intrinsic risks of the substance itself, are very high, in the range from 5 to 20 millions of euro every 100 substances, as high fees for studies and technical advice are needed for the preparation of the dossiers.
For more details see: