CHEMICAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DEFENSE

Pre-Registration of Phase-In Substances

For most companies, the initial step under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) will be the pre-registration of phase-in substances. The six-month pre-registration period will run from 1 June 2008 through 1 December 2008. Pre-registration will entail the electronic submission to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) of certain basic information on the substance and the pre-registrant.

By 1 January 2009, ECHA will publish on its website a list of the pre-registered substances. The list will not identify the pre-registrants, but this information will be available to all companies that have pre-registered the same substance. Those companies will then be required to participate in a Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF) for the substance, with the aim of the SIEF being to facilitate the sharing of existing data on the chemical, the collective identification of data gaps, and cost-sharing with respect to both existing and any newly-generated data.

Though not legally required, pre-registration is highly recommended because it will enable a company to continue manufacturing or importing the phase-in substance until the extended registration deadline is reached. A company that fails to pre-register cannot legally manufacture or import the substance into the European Union after 1 June 2008, until it has submitted a complete registration. In other words, supply must cease if pre-registration is not undertaken.