Reach regulation - Step one

The time allowed for the registration of the chemicals produced or imported in the European Union in quantities of between 100-1000 tons per year under the Reach regulation expired on May 31, 2013.
Federchimica, the Italian federation of the chemical industry, deemed necessary to take stock of the regulation's current status during a meeting held on June 5, in Milan, with the title "Il Reach al giro di boa (The Reach regulation at the turning point)", organized at its headquarters in cooperation with the Italian chemicals trade association AssICC (Associazione Italiana Commercio Chimico).
Six years have elapsed since the entry into force of the Reach regulation, and it was thought that applications would become less frequent in time, at least for the registration procedure, which will formally end by 2018. However, it is now clear that the number of substances registered on May 31 is much lower than those estimated during the preliminary stage and therefore, in spite of the considerable and important results obtained, companies must still focus their attention on this issue, particularly in consideration of the 2018 deadline, when the majority of substances have to be registered - i.e. those produced or imported in quantities of between 1-100 tons per year.
It is also important to notice that the Reach regulation involves not only the substances registration, but also a number of processes which sometimes turn out to be extremely complicated, and have to be dealt with by authorities and companies in their everyday activity.
The participants at the meeting listened the opinions of the European Commission, the national competent authorities and the managers of the companies operating in this sector.