Next REACH Deadline: June 1, 2011 Articles with SVHC

Article Exporters: get ready for another REACH deadline.

Articles that contain >0.1% of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) on the REACH Candidate list (here) may require your European customers to submit a notification to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) by June 1, 2011.

What articles?
- Articles that contain >0.1% w/w of an SVHC that are imported by EU-based companies.
- SVHC intended to be released from the article trigger formal REACH registration for volumes >1 metric tonne.  Articles where the SVHC is not intended to be released are subject to notification only as described below.

Who reports?
- Each EU importer who produces and/or imports articles with >0.1% SVHC with a cumulative volume of >1 metric tonne/year for all articles. Each importer must add up its total volume potentially across multiple types of articles for each SVHC. This makes it difficult for you as an exporter to know whether a customer exceeds the volume trigger.

- You can contract with a EU-based "Only Representative" to file notifications for you as with registrations.

- Most likely, customers will be asking you for further information beyond just whether an SVHC is in your products.

Exemptions?
No notification is required if:

- the importer can show that there is no exposure to humans or the environment during normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use and disposal.  No one knows yet how high this threshold is and whether anyone can meet it. At a minimum, you need to inform customers about how to safely use the article to prevent exposure.
- the importer is below 1 metric tonne SVHC for all articles it imports and produces.
- the SVHC chemical and its use in your type of article  have already been registered under REACH.  ECHA says it will be publishing non-confidential uses that have been registered.  The safest response is to contact your chemical suppliers to determine if they registered your uses.

When to notify?
- Notification requirements start June 1, 2011, for chemicals on the SVHC Candidate List for at least 6 months (prior to Jan. 1, 2011).
- Notification is triggered within 6 months of listing of an SVHC candidate. This list is updated periodically, most recently Jan. 13, 2011, with at least two new listings expected this year. This requires constant monitoring.

What to notify?
- The notice is fairly limited and ECHA is developing a reporting form; it includes a description of the article's use, the purpose of the SVHC in the article, and volume ranges.

Further Guidance?
- ECHA has prepared a guidance document on articles subject to REACH here, as well as other documents for notification here.
- Contact EHS Strategies, Inc. for assistance.