Chemicals play a crucial role in our world, both from a consumer and an industrial perspective. To be able to regulate chemical products in an efficient way, to mitigate the risks linked to their usage and to inform the public about these risks, the European Union has developed a regulatory framework covering chemicals, which is based on two major regulations known as REACH and CLP.
Interaction between REACH and CLP
The REACH and CLP Regulations are the two main pieces of legislation that regulate the use of chemical substances in Europe. Whilst these regulations are interconnected and complementary, they serve different purposes.
- REACH focuses on the registration of chemical substances for manufacture, import, supply, and safe use.
- CLP regulates the notification, classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures before placing them on the market.
Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 is Europe’s ground-breaking regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) that entered into force in June 2007. The overall purpose of this Regulation is to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment while still enhancing competitiveness and innovation. Furthermore, this Regulation defines the obligation to register and provide information on all chemicals placed on the EU market, and also determines whether chemical substances should be authorised or restricted based on an assessment of their intrinsic properties.
A.I.S.E. works closely with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and all interested parties to ensure that REACH is effectively implemented. While manufacturers, importers or downstream users of chemicals are all affected, A.I.S.E. focuses on product formulators’ duties, so-called downstream users (DUs) using REACH terminology. As such, A.I.S.E. is a leading member of the Downstream Users of Chemicals Coordination Group (DUCC) and also participates in several working groups of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC).
Revision of REACH
In October 2020 the European Commission adopted its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS), which provides an action plan to revise the REACH regulation. The proposed revision aims to boost innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals. More specifically, this revision will target:
- Bans of the most harmful chemicals
- Amended information requirements for hazardous chemicals
- Reform of the authorisation and restriction processes
- Registration of polymers, and
- Establishment of a simpler process for risk and hazard assessment.
Classification, Labelling & Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP)
Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances entered into force in 2009 and applied to mixtures from 2015 onwards. The Regulation provides criteria to identify and classify the hazards that substances and mixtures present to human health and the environment, such as their flammability, toxicity, effects when released in water, etc. It also regulates the labelling and packaging of hazardous chemicals, both for consumers and for professional / industrial applications.
Revision of CLP
The Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) included an action plan to revise the CLP Regulation. This revision is currently in its final stages.
More specifically, this revision targets:
- Updated rules for classifying complex substances/Improvement of labelling and advertising requirements
- Introduction of a right for the Commission to develop classification proposals on potentially hazardous chemicals
- Better and faster information for poison centres, and
- The setting of specific rules for refillable chemical products.
