Microtherm and REACH
REACH: European Community Regulation on chemicals
REACH is a European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007.
In keeping with our ongoing focus on health and safety issues, the Microtherm Group and our partners have been happy to comply with this important EU legislation.
The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. At the same time, innovative capability and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry should be enhanced. The benefits of the REACH system will come gradually, as more and more substances are phased into REACH.
The REACH Regulation gives greater responsibility to industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. Manufacturers and importers will be required to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances, which will allow their safe handling, and to register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency. The Agency will act as the central point in the REACH system: it will manage the databases necessary to operate the system, co-ordinate the in-depth evaluation of suspicious chemicals and run a public database in which consumers and professionals can find hazard information.
The Regulation also calls for the progressive substitution of the most dangerous chemicals when suitable alternatives have been identified.
Microtherm® and the REACH
All the raw material suppliers of Microtherm have been contacted and asked if they intended to pre-register their products.
In case a pre-registration was required, an official statement in which the pre-registration of the raw materials is confirmed, has been received.
If the raw materials were exempt from REACH an official statement in which the suppliers confirm that their products were exempt from the obligation to register under REACH, has been obtained.
Which means that the pre-registration of all materials used in the manufacture of Microtherm® has been completed.
The European Chemicals Agency are anxious that the most dangerous chemicals and substances should be given full registration as a priority. Less dangerous substances are treated with much less urgency. Because all of the materials that we use are inherently safe, both for handling and for the environment, full registration for Microtherm® has been given a deadline of 2018.
Specialist advice on this subject is available. Please contact reach@microtherm.be.