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ECHA provides advance notice on substances being considered for risk management

ECHA provides advance notice on substances being considered for risk management

ECHA/PR/14/13

From now on, ECHA's website gives advance notice on the substances  being considered by authorities for regulatory risk management, together with the  routes that are being considered. The routes are for example harmonised classification and labelling, authorisation or restriction. The information is useful for many stakeholders, including manufacturers and importers of chemicals, downstream users and civil society.

Helsinki, 23 September 2014 – This information was agreed as part of the roadmap to include all relevant substances of very high concern on the Candidate List by 2020.

The aim of the advance notice is to increase the predictability and transparency of the process by which substances are considered for regulatory risk management action. Early information enables stakeholders to be aware of the substances that may be addressed. It also gives registrants of those substances the opportunity to make sure that their registration data is up to date and to consider their business strategy in addressing these substances of potential concern. Finally, it gives all stakeholders the chance to gather information and prepare for possible future public consultations. The net effect will hopefully be more efficient and effective risk management of hazardous chemicals for all concerned.

The information is provided by the so called public activities coordination tool (PACT). It lists the substances to be addressed and the risk management options being considered. Once completed, it will include the conclusion of the  Risk Management Option Analysis (RMOA).

The RMOA aims to identify whether or not further regulatory risk management activities are needed for a substance and if so, to identify the most appropriate instrument to address the concern. The responsibility for the content of an RMOA lies with the authority which produced it. Once a risk management route has been decided upon, the usual consultation processes and decision making will take place, as defined in REACH.