REACH Regulations Easy Explained
REACH Regulations Easy Explained
Chemicals play a key role in many products people use every day. However, chemicals can also create risks if they are not managed properly. For this reason, the European Union introduced REACH, one of the most comprehensive chemical regulations in the world. This article therefore explains what REACH is, who must comply with it, and what its main requirements involve.
What is REACH?
REACH is the European Union’s main chemical regulation, and stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of CHemicals.
Its purpose is simple: Make chemical safer.
Before REACH came into force, European chemical regulations differed significantly between countries. As a result, authorities struggled to control risks, share information, and provide equal protection across the region. To address these challenges, REACH brought chemical safety requirements together under a single, unified system. Consequently, companies must now manage chemicals safely and consistently throughout the EU.
The REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 applies to chemical substances on their own, in mixtures, and in many everyday products (also called article). The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), together with national authorities in each EU/EEA country, enforces the regulation.
Who Needs to Follow REACH?
REACH applies in all EU member states and EEA countries and includes imported products, not just those made within the area.
REACH responsibilities depend on your role in the supply chain:
- Manufacturers: Produce chemicals within the EU/EEA
- Importers: Bring chemicals, mixtures, or products into the region
- Downstream users: Use chemicals in processes
- Distributors: Store or sell chemicals
- Companies: Any company that makes, imports, uses, or sells chemicals or chemical-containing products
- Workers: Employees handling products containing chemicals must receive safe-use information and training
What Does REACH Require?
Registration
Registration is the foundation of REACH. Companies must register any substance they manufacture or import in quantities above one tonne per year.
To do so, companies submit a registration dossier to ECHA. This dossier includes:
- Substance identity (chemical name, structure, composition)
- Hazard data (toxicity, environmental effects, physical hazards)
- Safe-use instructions
- Exposure scenarios (for larger tonnage bands)
- Analytical data to confirm substance identity
- Information on uses across the supply chain
The goal is to ensure that companies understand the risks of the chemicals they handle.
Important: REACH follows the principle “one substance, one registration”, meaning companies producing the same substance must share data and submit joint dossiers to avoid unnecessary testing.
Evaluation
ECHA and EU member states review registration dossiers to ensure they meet REACH requirements. Companies must keep their information up to date.
Evaluation focuses on three areas:
- Testing proposals: Checking if planned tests are appropriate
- Compliance checks: Verifying dossier quality
- Substance evaluation: Examining if a substance may pose a risk
Authorisation
Authorisation aims to control Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) and replace them with safer alternatives where possible.
A substance may qualify as an SVHC if it is:
- Carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction (CMR)
- Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT)
- Very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB)
- Of equivalent concern
Once authorities identify a substance as an SVHC, they add it to the Candidate List. Consequently, suppliers must meet additional obligations, such as:
- Providing a safety data sheet (SDS)
- Communicating safe-use information
- Informing ECHA if an article contains the substance above 0.1%
Over time, authorities may move certain SVHCs to Annex XIV (the Authorisation List). At that point, companies may only use the substance if they apply for and receive authorisation. Furthermore, authorisations are time-limited and subject to regular review.
Restriction
Restrictions address chemicals that pose unacceptable risks to human health or the environment. Depending on the risk, restrictions may:
- Ban a substance completely
- Limit the quantity used
- Restrict certain uses only
- Require specific measures, such as labelling or technical controls
Restrictions can apply to substances on their own, in mixtures, or in articles. Notably, they may also apply even when a substance is not registered or is produced in small quantities. However, certain use, such as on-site isolated intermediates or research and development, may qualify for exemptions.
REACH Influence Outside the EU
REACH has become a global reference point for chemical safety. Many countries outside the EU and EEA have created regulations inspired by REACH, with some of them being:
- United Kingdom (UK REACH): Adopted after Brexit, largely mirroring EU REACH
- Turkey (KKDIK): A REACH-like regulation requiring registration, evaluation, and authorisation
- South Korea (K-REACH): Strongly influenced by EU REACH, including registration and risk assessment
- India: Developing the Indian Chemicals (Management and Safety) Rules (CMSR), based on REACH-principles
REACH sets one of the highest standards for chemical safety in Europe, and its influence now extends worldwide. By understanding your responsibilities, you not only protect people and the environment but also strengthen your business. As more countries adopt REACH-inspired regulations, meeting these requirements is becoming a global expectation.