NPCA's Practical Guide on REACH now Available; Webinar Scheduled for Oct. 30

NPCA has published a guidance manual for members entitled Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) in The European Union: A Practical Guide for North American Paint and Coatings Formulators and their Suppliers, available now on www.Paint.org under both the REACH tab of Issues, and Publications. The guide covers the basics of REACH for the paint and coatings industry, including pre-registration and registration, as well as additional compliance resources and helpful links. NPCA will be conducting its third REACH webinar on Oct. 30, 2008 from 1:00 -2:00 pm EST, to review the manual and offer general compliance support.

Coming some 30 days before the close of the PRE-REGISTRATION period for chemicals (and paint products) currently in commerce in the European Union (EU), this webinar will be the last time NPCA members can learn of strategies to support their EU customer base. The web seminar will feature Martha Marrapese, Esq. of Keller and Heckman LLP and will feature the following:

  • Review of the new NPCA REACH compliance manual
  • What pre-registration involves for each coating ingredient
  • The "REACH IT" tool for pre-registration and registration
  • Confidentiality and engaging "third party representatives"
  • Engaging an "only representative"
  • After pre-registration lies the Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF) and data compensation
  • Registration and paint and coatings exports
  • What goes into a registration dossier
  • Polymeric ingredients in coatings
  • Will my MSDS meet the requirements of REACH?
  • A "Question & Answer" session aimed at assisting companies with their overall REACH compliance approach

NPCA member companies selling products in the EU will want to sign up and be on line to hear all the discussion. The cost of the webinar is $129 and registration information can be found below.

Keller and Heckman LLP, whose broad practice in the areas of regulatory law, litigation, and business transactions serves both domestic and international clients, devised the guidance manual. The law firm boasts an in-house scientific staff that works closely with the firm's attorneys on matters of technical complexity, including REACH. NPCA's Product Stewardship Committee and Product Sustainability Task Force have reviewed the document.

The webinar and guide are geared to meet the needs of anyone responsible for exporting paint and coatings to, including those exporting to existing markets and those just now considering serving customers in the EU.

Background on REACH

The EU finalized REACH in June 2007. Similar in intent to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in the United States, the REACH regulation is different in that it reverses the burden of proof. Instead of the EU government having to demonstrate that the use of a chemical is unsafe, industry now has to show the uses for chemicals it wants to sell in the EU are safe. The regulation is primarily focused on EU-based chemical manufacturers and importers, as well as EU-based coatings companies and their customers in the EU. REACH, however, will also affect U.S. coatings manufacturers who export products to EU customers, since those customers are considered chemical importers under the REACH regulation.

REACH compliance is designed to engage the whole "supply chain" for chemical products, including manufacturers, distributors, formulators, applicators, and (coated) product manufacturers. Each entity in the supply chain has a role to ensure safe use of a chemical, either by testing the material or by providing information for a risk profile that will ensure safe use. Formulators, like coatings manufacturers, will be required to obtain critical information from their suppliers in order to support the detailed registration process that will account for each use of a given chemical in every formulated product sold in the EU. While this may seem excessively redundant and a wasteful duplication of effort to U.S. manufacturers used to dealing with TSCA (which registers chemicals, not "uses of chemicals"), it is nevertheless a critical REACH requirement, one that is markedly different than any prior chemical control regulation.

The REACH "Pre-registration" period that began on June 1, 2008 and runs through Dec.1, 2008. Pre-registration is the mechanism in the rule that allows companies that were already manufacturing or importing chemicals into the EU prior to the effective date of June 2007, to maintain their "status quo." By pre-registering current uses of chemicals in the EU under REACH, commercial activities may continue until such time as a final registration (when more detailed information must be provided) is completed.

Only EU-based entities can pre-register chemical uses under REACH, therefore U.S.-based companies exporting products to customers in the EU must find an agent to handle their pre-registration. Suitable agents include EU-based importers or distributors, EU customers, or an EU-based independent agent (known as an "only representative") willing to file the necessary information. Pre-registering is free, and requires surprisingly little information and/or documentation than is required for new chemicals. Once accomplished, the identified chemical use will automatically place the registrant in a "pool" of companies that have an interest in the same use, the goal being to have these companies form a "consortium" to complete the work on the full registration. Pre-registration, besides being required for continued sales, also provides an extended time period for compliance with the rest of the REACH requirements.

Contact: NPCA's Steve Sides for more information.

Source: November 2008 Coatings, posted 9/30/08