Survey to improve the substance evaluation process

ECHA will launch a survey in July about the substance evaluation process under REACH. The survey will be sent to the Member State competent authorities, Member State Committee members, accredited stakeholder organisations who are observers at the Member State Committee, the Commission and to a sample of those registrants whose substances have been included in the Community rolling action plan. The results will feed into the substance evaluation workshop in November 2015 and to the report on the operation of REACH in 2016.

The survey will be conducted by AMEC Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure, UK. ECHA hopes to have a high response rate and constructive suggestions for improvements.

Public consultation launched on the proposed restriction of two substances used in personal care products

The United Kingdom is proposing a restriction for personal care products, that are washed off in normal use, if they contain more than 0.1% by weight octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) or decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5).

This public consultation is open from 18 June 2015 to 18 December 2015. ECHA's scientific committees welcome early comments by 1 September 2015 to assist them with their initial discussions. The committees have posed several questions on aspects of the proposal where they wish to receive additional information.

Restrictions under consideration

eChemPortal upgraded with improved access to information on chemicals classifications

The OECD eChemPortal, a web portal which offers comprehensive information on chemical substances, has been updated to offer better access to chemical classifications. The classifications follow the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), which the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation is based on.

A new search by GHS classification allows users to view classifications, which have undergone a review by a regulatory body or an intergovernmental organisation. The first data sources linked to through this search are the C&L Inventory of ECHA and the GHS Classification Results by the Japanese Government.

ECHA contributes to the project management of the eChemPortal, in cooperation with the OECD, and is one of the main data providers to the portal.

OECD press release | eChemPortal

New appeal fees

The Board of Appeal asks anybody considering lodging an appeal to take into account the new appeal fees that are applicable following the entry into force on 25 June 2015 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/864. The latest appeal fees are set out in Annex VIII of that Regulation.

News item | Official Journal of the European Union

REACH 2018 in LinkedIn - follow our new page

Are you active in LinkedIn? Follow our new pages dedicated to the REACH 2018 deadline to keep up-to-date with relevant news. Invite your friends and colleagues working with chemicals to follow it too.

REACH 2018 in LinkedIn

Introduction to OECD QSAR Toolbox webinar – presentations and recording available online

17 June 2015, 11:00-14:00 Helsinki

The webinar provides an introduction to the OECD QSAR Toolbox and its functionalities. Two examples cover endpoints which will be relevant for the REACH registration deadline in 2018 (e.g. skin sensitisation, aquatic toxicity). The Toolbox is the most comprehensive, widely recognised and freely available platform for data gap filling in regulatory hazard assessment, while avoiding tests. It is used for grouping chemicals into categories, identifying and filling (eco-)toxicological data gaps for the hazard assessment of chemicals.

Presentations and recording | OECD QSAR Toolbox