Information About REACH

As you may be aware, the EU has generated a new Regulation, known as REACH (Registration, Evaluations and Authorisation of Chemicals) which became effective on the 1^st June 2007.  The intention of this Regulation is to improve the protection of human health and of the environment from risks associated with chemicals and their
use – an intention which we thoroughly support and commend.

You can find out more about REACH from the European Chemicals Agency on http://echa.europa.eu/ or, in the U.K., from the HSE - www.hse.gov.uk/reach

The following details explain our responsibilities as a Company.

Almost all of the products we supply are classified under REACH as formulated “preparations”, rather than substances.  This means that these products will be exempt in themselves from the requirement to register.

The materials we use to make them will, however, require to be registered by their manufacturers and we are maintaining an active dialogue with our suppliers to ensure that they are fulfilling their obligations and that
there will therefore be no loss of continuity in supply.  Should we be concerned about the situation with any individual raw material, we may take our own steps to pre-register it to ensure that it is at least held available
during the transitional periods.

REACH will also require information to flow up-stream, so that the risks associated with individual applications
can be assessed.  To assist in that process, can we ask you to consider whether the use you make of any of our products is outwith what we have described as its normal field of use and, if so, inform us in confidence of the details?  If you are uncertain on this point, please do not hesitate to contact our Technical Support Team.

You should, however, be aware that this part of REACH is still in discussion, let alone in preparation, so it
will be several years before any such requirements appear. We will continue to bring you updates about the implementation of REACH and related legislation as it affects our business and our customers so please feel
free to bookmark this page.