REACH - TUC Briefing for Safety Representatives

REACH

A briefing for Safety Representatives

January 2007

What is REACH?

REACH is the Registration Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Regulations and is new Europe-wide legislation aimed at ensuring that chemicals are properly tested before going on the market.

REACH is based on the belief that industry itself should be responsible for ensuring that the chemicals it manufactures and puts on the market in the EU do not adversely affect the health of those workers exposed to them through their employment, the public who come in contact with them as users, or the environment. REACH will also simplify the control of chemicals in the European market place and replaces a large number of other directives with a single system of registration, evaluation and authorisation.

REACH was primarily intended as a measure to protect the environment and consumers, but it has implications for workplace safety which this briefing will deal with.

Why we need new regulations

It has been estimated that one in three of all occupational diseases recognised in Europe every year are caused by exposure to workplace chemicals. In the UK the TUC believes that around 18,000 deaths a year are caused by cancers caused by workplace exposure. There are many tens of thousands of others who suffer from skin problems, breathing problems or neurological damage caused by exposure to chemicals.

At the moment there are a confusing range of European directives covering the manufacture of chemicals but, not only are they complicated, they do not really work. At present there are many chemicals in use which we know very little about from a safety point of view. At present the burden of proof is on the authorities to show that a chemical is unsafe before they can impose any restrictions. In addition different rules apply to new and existing substances so many chemicals that have been on the market for some time have never been properly tested. At the same time the different rules applying to new and existing chemicals means that employers are often discouraged from introducing new substances on the market and instead could be more likely to use existing untested chemicals which might actually be more dangerous.

The new regulations will ensure that, within 11 years, we will have much better information on around 30,000 different substances. There will be one single system and the burden of proof will be on industry to demonstrate that a chemical can be used safely, and how. Another advantage is that everyone in the supply chain will have to ensure the safety of the chemical substances they handle and will have better information to do this.

What does REACH do?

The main themes of REACH are registration, evaluation and authorisation of substances manufactured or imported into the EU.

There will be a duty on industry to collect, collate and submit information to the new European Chemicals Agency which will be set up in Helsinki from 2008. This information will have to cover all substances (with a few exceptions) if they are manufactured or imported into the EU in quantities above 1 tonne per year. In addition certain substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction will have to be authorised. Industry will also have to prepare risk assessments and control measures for those people using the substance. This should increase both the labelling of products but also the information on the data sheets that accompany them.

Registration

Chemicals will be registered in 3 phases according to the quantities manufactured or imported. Those chemicals of more than 1,000 tonnes a year, or those of highest concern, have to be registered in the first 3 years. Substances of between 100 and 1,000 tonnes a year need to be registered in the first 6 years and all substances of 1 tonne or above must be registered in the first 11 years of REACH.

Evaluation

Manufacturers and importers will also have to develop dossiers, which will then have to be evaluated. There will be 2 kinds of evaluation, the first is for substances over 100 tonnes a year where individual countries will be required to examine and agree any testing proposals put forward by industry and also to ensure that the dossiers are complete and compliant. In addition there will be a separate substance evaluation, which allows individual European countries to consider whether industry needs to obtain more information for the chemical safety report.

Authorisation

Industry must also gain EU wide authorisation for the use of any substances that are considered to be of high concern. These include any substances that are identified as carcinogenic or toxic to reproduction. In addition the European Commission can place specific restrictions on substances.

Within the UK the body responsible for enforcing REACH will be the Health and Safety Executive. It will be their job to ensure compliance with registration, to evaluate substances and to generally enforce the regulations.

What substances will be covered?

REACH is very wide and will cover all substances, whether manufactured or imported, that are either used as an intermediate or sold either on their own or in preparations. Exemptions are substances that are radioactive, subject to custom supervision, or are 'non-isolated intermediates'. Waste is specifically exempt, as is food.

The union view

The European trade unions have broadly welcomed REACH. They particularly support the reversal of the burden of proof onto industry and the wide coverage. However because of pressure from employers' organisation many of the original proposals for a new chemical framework have been watered down. The new regulations mean that industry will be able to go on using certain extremely dangerous substances even if safer alternatives are available. This is inconsistent with the current legislation on the protection of workers, which insists that employers must substitute any dangerous substances that they cannot eliminate, if a substitute is available. Trade unions have also expressed concern over the reporting of substances below 10 tonnes per year where there will be no requirement on employers to provide information derived from the testing of the substances.

Broadly however the concern of unions has not been about what REACH says, but about how it is implemented. Unions wish to ensure that nothing in REACH, or its implementation at national level, undermines existing worker protection. The British TUC believes strongly that REACH should be incorporated into British law as soon as possible, and that, where possible, existing chemical regulations are simplified and that procedures are harmonised, however there can be no reduction on existing protection and nothing in REACH should be used to water down or remove any current regulations.

The purpose of REACH is to increase protection, not reduce it and trade unions will be working closely with the HSC to ensure that, when legislation to implement REACH is introduced in Britain, it is strong, effective, and also easily understood and implemented.

What will it mean in the workplace?

In the long term REACH should mean that there is much more information on the safety of chemicals that are used in the workplace. Rather than simple safety datasheets, information will also be available on the dangers of substances when they are combined with other chemicals or are used for specific purposes. If an employer receives information from a supplier or manufacturer that does not cover their use of the substance then they should notify the supplier. Even for substances where there is no safety data sheet there are still obligations on suppliers to give any information on potential hazards to all users right down the supply chain.

REACH will also hopefully lead to dangers being identified earlier and the more dangerous substances either better controlled, or substituted, although much of this will depend on the activity of unions and safety representatives, and the way the regulations are enforced.

What REACH will not mean

There are a lot of myths around what REACH will and will not do. Safety representatives must remember that REACH was primarily introduced as a measure to protect the environment and the public, rather than workers. It is therefore important to recognise that:

REACH does not mean that all chemicals in use in the workplace will be 'safe'. For most substances REACH will simply ensure that chemicals have been tested and information on any potential dangers (depending on how they are used) will be better available. This will not necessarily mean these chemicals will not be used and it will be up to union activity to ensure that the more dangerous chemicals are removed or substituted, and when that is not possible the risks are fully controlled.

REACH will not replace the existing chemicals regulations such as COSHH and CHIP. These should continue to apply and nothing within the European directive repeals the European regulations on which they are based. It is however hoped that when REACH is introduced then the new legislation is fully compatible will existing regulations and that as far as employers and safety representatives are concerned, it will all sit as one simple package.

It has been argued that REACH will create a more complex regime with new duties on employers. This is not true. In fact there will be very few new duties on employers, unless they are manufacturers or importers of chemicals. Instead employers will get much more information about the substances they use.

It has also been claimed that REACH may threaten the European chemicals industry. In fact it is recognised by both sides of industry that REACH will help encourage more innovation and make the European chemical industry one which is not only more competitive, but the world leader. That is why REACH has been welcomed by the Chemical Industry Association.

What Safety Representatives need to do!

At the moment we do not know how the REACH regulations will be introduced into the UK. The Health and Safety Commission will be consulting on new regulations either in late 2007 or during 2008 and trade unions will be fully involved in discussions on these.

In the meanwhile it is important that safety representatives continue to ensure that employers undertake full risk assessments on all chemicals and other dangerous substances and ensure they are provided with safety data sheets from manufacturers.

For further information.

The HSE has a series of pages on REACH on their website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/chemicals/reach.htm

If you want more detailed information about exactly what REACH says, the European Commission has produced an informative briefing of the issue at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/reach/docs/reach/reach_in_brief_revised_061212.pdf