Scientific Reviews

Substance Characterization for UVCBs - Part 1: Organic Substances

UVCB substances, by their very nature, can present a difficult analytical challenge and their characterization demands a somewhat different approach. Formal substance identification requires not only the main identifiers (name, source and production process) but also what ECHA’s guidance documents refer to as ‘other identifiers’. In this, the first of two articles, the design of a potential analytical strategy for the characterization of organic UVCBs is discussed.

Author: Dr. Kath Carr / Date published: 9th March 2010 / Download

Characterization of Multi-constituent Substances for REACH Registration

Under REACH, multi-constituent substances are described as ‘well-defined'. This terminology belies the fact that characterization for the purpose of registration can, in some cases, present a significant analytical challenge. The successful analysis of multi-constituent substances requires a combination of in-depth knowledge of the chemical processes used to prepare them and a well-chosen suite of tests.

Author: Dr. Kath Carr / Date published: 8th October 2009 / Download

Establishing Substance Identity by Analytical Characterization

Substance sameness checking is a crucial SIEF activity undertaken during the early stages of the registration process. Establishing substance identity is an important precursor to sameness checking and ECHA is monitoring the quality and robustness of analytical data acquired by registrants to characterize their substances. During the first 5 months of 2009, around 450 enquiries were received, 23% of which were rejected on the grounds that the dossiers were incomplete (e.g. missing spectral data) or the substance identity had not been sufficiently described.

Author: Dr. Kath Carr / Date published: 5th June 2009 / Download