Late by eight months, the European Commission has released, on 5 February 2013, the REACH Review, a report on the implementation of the Regulation. A positive appraisal, as the Commission fingers out the use of chemicals in Europe has become considerably safer, especially thanks to "more readily available information about chemical substances on the market and better targeted risk management measures". Further, the trend is expected to continue, as industry is continuously working towards finding substitutes for the most hazardous chemicals.
Up to now, the industry has registered 30,601 files with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which describe uses and properties of 7,884 chemical substances manufactured or placed on the market.
After the Commission delegates, this report is a proof that REACH works and that, some adjustments are needed, no major overhaul is required.
Among the recommendations to improve the REACH functioning:
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Improve the quality of the registration dossiers; enhance the use of safety data sheets as a central risk management tool; address issues related to cost sharing within Substance Information Exchange Forums (SIEFs).
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Reduce the financial and administrative burden on SMEs in order to ensure the proportionality of legislation and to assist them to fulfil all their REACH obligations.
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Enforcement could be improved. As this is the responsibility of the Member States, the report recommends that Member States reinforce coordination amongst them.
Just released, this report is already attacked, especially by the Environment European Bureau (EEB), which says it is "too little, too late", and notes that, of the five outstanding problems that should have been examined by the Commission under the REACH review, two have been postponed, and no idea for improvement has been given for …
