REACH defines an article as an object which during production is given a special shape, surface or design which determines its function to a greater degree than does its chemical composition. These include commonly used objects such as books, laptops, toys etc. Your obligations under REACH are dependent on your role as a producer, an importer or a supplier of articles.
Any importer or producer of articles may be required to register a substance in articles if it is intended to be released from the articles during normal or reasonable foreseeable conditions of use and the total amount of the substance present in all articles produced and/or imported, from which the substance is intended to be released, exceeds 1 tonne per year.
Producers or importers also have to notify the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), if a Candidate Listed substance is present in the articles above 0.1% w/w and the quantity of the substance totals above 1 tonne per year. The duty to notify began in June 2011.
If you are an EU/EEA supplier of articles containing Candidate Listed substances present above 0.1% w/w you will have communication obligations under Article 33 of REACH. You must give the recipient of the article sufficient information to allow safe use of the item, as a minimum the name of that Candidate Listed substance. You are also obliged to give the same information upon request to a consumer within 45 days of receipt of the request. From 5 January 2021, companies producing,
importing or selling articles that contain substances of very high concern
(SVHC) on the REACH Candidate List in a concentration above 0.1% w/w on the EU
market will be required to submit information on these articles to ECHA’s new
database which contains information on Substances of Concern In articles as
such or in complex objects (Products) – SCIP.
Finally, articles must not be placed on the market if they breach any relevant Annex XVII restriction - a regular feature in the European Commission's RAPEX reports on products posing serious risks to health, safety or the environment! Starting in 2016, an EU-wide "REACH-EN-FORCE" project will see inspections relating in particular to 14 shortlisted restrictions, many of which apply to articles.
If you need to find out more about the implications of REACH, attending one of our training days may be the answer!
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