Under REACH, what does "review" mean, what topics will be reviewed and by when?
REACH foresees that over the next twelve years after entry into force, the Commission will carry out a number of reviews of parts of the regulation to take into account any new experience gathered during a set time period and, where appropriate, present a legislative or quasi-legislative proposal to amend the law to ensure a high level of protection for human health and the environment.
The term "review" in this legislative context should not be confused with the "reviews" the Commission will do in order to amend or withdraw time-limited authorisations granted to industry for a particular use of a substance of very high concern. The following information relates only to the reviews in the legislative context:
Within 12 months of entry into force of REACH the Commission will review Annex I (rules for chemical safety reports) Annex IV (substances exempted from registration where sufficient information is known and the risk is minimal) and Annex V (substances exempted from registration under the current legislation).
Within 18 months the Commission will review Annex XIII (criteria for identification of persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic or very persistent and very bio-accumulative substances (PBTs and vPvBs).
After 5 years, the Commission will review the scope of this Regulation to avoid overlaps with other relevant Community provisions and the rules concerning the European Chemicals Agency.
After 6 years, the Commission will review whether or not substances that have endocrine disrupting properties should still be authorised if a suitable safer alternative exists.
After 7 years the Commission will review whether or not to extend the obligation to submit a Chemical Safety Report (CSR) to CMR substances below 10 tonnes and after twelve years a similar review will consider all substances below 10 tonnes.
Furthermore, the Commission will carry out a review on whether or not to extend the duty to inform consumers about substances in articles to other substances which are not of very high concern but which could still be dangerous or unpleasant (e.g. allergens). The requirement for a reproductive toxicity test for volumes between 10 and 100 t per year (laid down in Annex VIII) will be also reviewed after 12 years.
