REACH

European Union New Legislation. Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) was approved on February 18, 2006 by the Council of the European Union, and entered into force on June 1, 2007. The legislation established a European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), responsible for operating the new registration system, which will be implemented based on the quantities of chemical substances produced or imported into the European market and the risks these substances can cause to both human health and the environment. The legislation applies to the companies located in the European Union, who produce or import Chemicals, companies who export to that market, as well as to any company from other industries who imports goods into Europe, which contain chemical substances in their composition in special conditions established in the European legislation. The industry will be responsible for the burden of proof for the safety of the marketed chemical substances.

First deadline will be in December, 2010.

Since December 1, 2008, the chemical substances marketed in the European Union have been pre-registered at the European Chemicals Agency. Regarding final registration, all companies manufacturing or importing chemical substances into the European Union in quantities of one metric ton or more per year will be required to register these substances by December 1, 2010; the deadline for the companies manufacturing or importing from 100 to 1,000 metric tons per year will be June 1, 2013. Companies that market between 1 and 100 metric tons of a specific chemical substance will be required to register that substance by June 1, 2018.

Since the new legislation publication, Quattor has been actively following up on every technical and legal aspect every technical and legal aspect established by this regulation regarding chemical substance manufacturers located outside the EU. As a result, in mid-2008 the company designated CIBA NV as its legal representative.

Every obligation established by the REACH Regulation related to the first stage, identified as “pre-registration”, aimed at assuring that the marketing of chemical products in the European Union, has been successfully accomplished by Quattor. Therefore, 43 chemical substances have been registered, including basic petrochemicals and resin additives produced by Quattor.