What to do about REACH (EC 1907/2006)?

July 6, 2010, 9:57 am
Question
The REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) directive is starting to become more en vogue as the deadline for pre-registration of substances with ECHA is the end of next month. I am currently reading the directive and trying to understand it. As a designer and seller of electrical kitchen appliances; do these come under the umbrella of 'articles' in the directive? The list of restricted substances is obscene, but it could be that my products contain x% of a banned substance; most likely as a flame retardant in the power cable. Strictly speaking I am neither the importer nor the manufacturer, but I am providing a service to my customer (the importer) and already ensure RoHS compliance. Do I have to do anything for REACH compliance?
Answer
As I (think I) understand, you will not need to pre-register as a producer or importer of these substances. REACH does not (at this stage) ban any substances. However, partly under this, and also under WEEE, you should have a complete material breakdown of your products (by weight). That way, you can determine its recyclability, and also whether any substances are on the Hazardous substances list (not just RoHS, there's also the one that covers PFOS and other substances, my info is a work, I don't have it to hand). If you buy in or sub-contract any pieces of the end-product, your supplier is responsible for supplying the material breakdown for that piece - request the info from them. If you make any bits from raw material yourself, you will need to calculate it.
Source: answers.yahoo.com




Leave a reply

Your Name:
 
Your Email:
 
Comment:
 
 
captcha