On February 3, ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) released the first list of substances that need to be registered by May 31, 2013. It is estimated that at least 2,300 phased substances will complete REACH registration, of which 1,583 registrants are currently preparing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christel Musset, ECHA Registration Manager, emphasized that although this is only preliminary information, ECHA's timely release of this data helps downstream users determine whether the substances they use are being registered or will be registered by 2013. If necessary, downstream users should contact their suppliers to check whether the chemicals they use are covered in the chemical safety assessment and exposure scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andreas Herdina, Manager of the Cooperation and Communication Department at ECHA, pointed out that the data this time is better than the estimates before the 2010 registration deadline, and the number of SMEs registering by the 2013 deadline will increase significantly. This is inconsistent with the original official expectation that \"more SMEs will register by 2018.\" ECHA stated that they will update the data monthly, and therefore they hope that more potential registrants will actively respond to the survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, Andreas Herdina stated that the ECHA Directors Liaison Group, established to address the registration issues of 2010, will continue to exist, but at a reduced frequency, as most of the registration issues have been resolved, and communication within the supply chain, downstream user concerns, and how to assist SMEs will become the main issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n