ECHA to prepare preliminary list of pre-registered substances by Jan 1

10 Dec '08

3 min read

After the REACH pre-registration closed on 1 December, REACH-IT has been processing the bulk files in the queue and ECHA has been working hard to check the information submitted during the pre-registration period. As the volume of preregistrations is so large, ECHA can only produce a preliminary list of pre-registered substances by 1 January.

On 5 January when the new version of REACH-IT is launched, ECHA will reopen the pre-SIEFs with regard to those companies and substances which have passed a preliminary verification. Also early January, ECHA will communicate by when it will be able to check all pre-registrations, open access to the remaining valid pre-registrations and publish the final list.

As the bulk files in queue have been processed, the number of pre-registrations has increased to 2.6 million. This is more than 20 times the expected volume and most of the information was received at the very end of the pre-registration period.

ECHA has received pre-registrations for over 140,000 items, some of which are not substances requiring registration under the REACH Regulation. In fact, the pre-registrations cover the whole of EINECS (the European INventory of Existing Commercial Substances), and all the substances covered by the Directive on notification of new substances.

There are also a large number of pre-registrations with only CAS numbers; for which ECHA will use the names provided by the Chemical Abstracts Service of the American Chemical Society. However, a significant proportion of the pre-registered items do not have any numbers and these will have to be checked further to establish their status as substances with the aim of helping our stakeholders in the next stages of the REACH process.

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 (Substance Info Exchange Forums). Finally, ECHA is also deleting the pre-registrations of companies which have asked for this by the deadline of 1 December

This verification process will not be complete by 1 January, so ECHA expects to produce a final list at a later stage. on 5 January, when the new and enhanced version of REACH-IT will be launched, ECHA can only re-open the pre-SIEFs in REACH-IT for companies and pre-registrations that passed a preliminary verification. ECHA targets to issue a news alert by 9 January to communicate by when it will be able to complete its check of all pre-registrations and publish the final list of pre-registered substances.

Please remember that REACH allows a manufacturer, importer or (where relevant) a downstream user to appoint a third party representative to do certain tasks, including preregistration, on their behalf. However, the substances can only be pre-registered by those companies (or their legal successors) that intend to register these substances at a later stage.

It is not lawful to transfer or sell a pre-registration to another company. Companies may use the option of “late pre-registration” provided by Article 28(6) of the REACH Regulation if they manufacture or import chemical substances for the first time in quantities of one tonne or more after 1 December 2008.

European Chemical Agency

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