Forum starts projects on internet trade of chemicals and on substances in articles

Forum starts projects on internet trade of chemicals and on substances in articles

ECHA/NA/15/36

At its November meeting, the Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement decided on two new pilot projects for 2016 and 2017.

Helsinki, 10 November 2015 - In 2016, a pilot project will focus on internet sales of chemicals. The intention is to enforce that legal provisions are complied with (e.g. appropriate information is provided to customers) when substances and mixtures are offered for sale on the internet.

The pilot project for 2017 will focus on enforcing the provisions for substances in articles in REACH. The Forum is committed to coordinating enforcement of these provisions following the recent judgement of the Court of Justice (10 September 2015 in case C-106/14) clarifying the obligations under Articles 7(2) and 33 of REACH.

The Forum also specified the scope of the fifth coordinated REACH enforcement project focusing on obligations related to extended safety data sheets, exposure scenarios, risk management measures and operational conditions.

The project will be executed in 2017 and addresses the whole supply chain covering obligations of first-level suppliers (e.g. manufacturers or importers), actors in the supply chain (e.g. distributors) and actual users (e.g. formulators or end users). To further prepare inspectors for the project, the Forum's annual training for enforcement trainers in 2016 will also focus on enforcement of extended safety data sheets.
 
The Forum also held an open session with ECHA's accredited stakeholder organisations. They brought forward a number of items for discussion including an industry initiative for complying with provisions for liquid laundry detergent capsules, enforcement of information requirements in dossiers and intermediate uses in the metal industry.