Hello and welcome to the December edition of The REACH Centre newsletter.

Pre-registration ended on 1st December, and during the six month pre-registration period more than two million pre-registrations were carried out.

The next phase of REACH is preparation for registration. SIEFs will be formed over the next few months, and if you have pre-registered you need to participate.

The REACH Centre can advise you on how best to work within your SIEF. To find out more, visit our website.

The six month pre-registration period ended at 2400GMT on 1st December 2008.

More than 2.6 million pre-registrations have been received by the ECHA, covering more than 140000 substances. This number is currently increasing due to a large number of bulk pre-registrations submitted in the run up to the deadline, which are now being processed.

The ECHA will attempt to publish the full list of pre-registered substances as soon as possible after 1st January 2009, but as the number of pre-registrations is so large the checking of data will delay the publication of the full list. The list, however, may be of limited use to downstream users as all the substances on the EINECS inventory have been pre-registered.

ECHA's Executive Director Geert Dancet said: "Pre-registration was an enormous success for ECHA. We managed to upgrade the REACH-IT system continuously throughout the six month period despite the exponential growth in the number of preregistrations during the final weeks before the deadline. Having virtually all preregistrations submitted in REACH-IT will permit a timely publication of the List of Preregistered Substances and a swift start of data sharing."

ECHA has also noted that a number of companies which have submitted pre-registrations are not pre-registrants under the REACH Regulation and their pre-registrations may not be valid. A comprehensive check of these pre-registrations will have an impact on the lists of companies in the pre-SIEFs which are the preparatory step towards the SIEFs. The ECHA is expected to announce on 9th January when the pre-SIEFs will be re-opened. The pre-SIEFs will only be reopened when the ECHA has completed preliminary checks on the companies in the SIEF.

The next REACH obligation for companies that have pre-registered is to begin working in SIEFs to share their data, in order that the substances can be registered by their registration deadlines (2010, 2013 or 2018).

In the UK, the Competent Authority for REACH is hosted by the Health and Safety Executive, working with the Environment Agency and other government departments.

The UK Competent Authority have recently announced the penalties that will be applied to companies who do not comply with the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008.

The REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 provide that it is an offence for a person to contravene a ‘listed REACH provision’ (this refers to the REACH requirements listed in the table in Schedule 1 of the Regulations) or to cause or permit another person to do so.

The Enforcement Regulations allow for a breach of a listed REACH provision to be tried summarily (e.g. in Magistrates Courts) or on indictment (e.g. in Crown Courts), and provide that the same potential maximum penalty will apply for each provision, namely up to the maxima permitted under the European Communities Act 1972. These are currently:

• up to £5,000 fine and/or up to three months imprisonment following summary conviction; and
• an unlimited fine and/or up to two years imprisonment following conviction on indictment.

More information, and a link to the full text of the regulation, can be found on the HSE website.

If you are based in Northwest England, The REACH Centre can offer part-funded support on REACH issues.

REACH legislation not only has an impact on chemical manufacturers, it also creates major issues for downstream users of chemicals. Aerospace, Automotive, Textiles and all other Manufacturing sectors that use chemical preparations are liable to face considerable disruption to their current activities.

The REACH Centre and Chemicals Northwest can support your REACH needs through the Regional Integrated Support Programme (RISP). RISP provides part-funded support to businesses in the North West of England with the aim to assist in the better management of REACH issues and ensure compliance with the legislation.

Breakdown of support provided through the Regional Integrated Support Programme

"The REACH Centre has supported over 200 UK companies in managing their REACH obligations, over 70% are SMEs"

Support is delivered through both workshops and direct consultancy. The REACH Centre works collaboratively with Trade Associations and Regional Cluster Organisations to provide assistance across a broad industry base.

Contact The REACH Centre today to discuss how your organisation could benefit from RISP. Visit the Northwest business support page on our website.

Training and education surrounding REACH legislation is vitally important to ensure organisations get it right with minimal expense and upheaval. We offer a wide selection of training solutions ranging from REACH workshops through to bespoke programmes.

Working effectively in SIEFs and Consortia

Date - Thursday 15th January 2009
Venue - Lancaster University Campus
Cost - £295 + VAT per person

This workshop provides a balanced overview of the legal responsibilities and the practical business issues involved when working in SIEFs and Consortia

Read more [PDF] :: Booking form

New courses for 2009 will be announced soon. You can find the latest courses listed on the training page on our website.

Bespoke training

If you cannot travel to our training events, we can travel to you. We offer bespoke training packages for companies, and we also offer online REACH training. For more information, visit our website.

The REACH Centre also provides IUCLID5 training tailored to your needs. For more information, please contact m.dallavalle@thereachcentre.com

Don’t forget The REACH Centre offers a wide range of REACH services. To find out more, visit our website.