Data on chemicals

With REACH, users of chemicals will have access to wider and more comprehensive information concerning:

• the dangerous properties of the chemicals handled;

• the risks generated by their exposure;

• and, security measures to be adopted.

To reach this goal, the new system will close the knowledge gap about many chemicals on the European market, by providing safety information about chemicals produced or imported in volumes higher than 1 tonne per year and per manufacturer/importer: manufacturers and importers will be required to gather information on their properties and uses and submit it in a registration dossier to a central database. File evaluation will allow checking compliance of registration dossiers with REACH requirements and along with data sharing between suppliers, will minimise animal testing.

Manufacturers or importers of substance in quantities of 10 tonnes or more per year will have in addition, to perform a chemical safety assessment in order to identify the appropriate measures to adequately control the risks.

Finally, when there is a reason to believe that a substance may present a risk to human health or environment, substance evaluation by one of the Member States will be performed. The outcome of such an evaluation may be that the registrant will have to provide additional information.