Interesting article from The Manufacturing News. Here are some of the hilights:
REACH applies to EU chemical manufacturers and importers of chemicals into the EU. It also applies to “downstream users” that manufacture or assemble products containing chemi-cals that may be physically released and that are sold into the EU market. Everything from pens to perfumes to paint; minerals to household cleaning products may be affected. Products that release chemicals during normal use or just from simple wear and tear, such as tires or even clothing that release dyes when cleaned, may also be covered. Industries ranging from textiles to electronics to housing products will come under the scope of the new rules…
Evaluating your exposure: In order to understand your exposure to REACH and its potential impact on your business, you need to know (1) what chemicals do you use; (2) how you use them (i.e., process chemicals, product ingredients, coatings, etc.); (3) the source of the chemicals; (4) where the chemicals end up (i.e., in products, released from products due to wear and tear or other releases, in wastes, water discharges, etc.); and (5) what markets you sell into. With this baseline set of information, you can begin the process of evaluating how REACH may affect your business, ranging from threats to the availability of key chemicals to revising product formulations to anticipating likely customer demands and needs.
The full article provides an excellent primer on REACH and is available at The Manufacturing News.
