The last registration period for existing chemicals under the EU’s REACH chemicals legislation was completed on May 31. Over the 10-year period, 21 551 substances currently sold on the EU market were registered, according to the European Chemicals Agency, ECHA which administrates the program.

ECHA said altogether 13 620 European companies have now submitted information in nearly 90 000 registrations for chemicals manufactured in or imported to the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) in volumes of above 1 t/y.

With the REACH regulation, the EU has established a fair and transparent internal market for chemicals with strict safety rules, the Helsinki-based agency said. “This promotes innovation towards safer substances and strengthens EU competitiveness.”

“European industry has assessed and managed the health and environmental risks of its chemicals and sent proof of that to ECHA,” executive director Bjorn Hansen commented.   “Most of the companies,” he said, “managed to register on time, and can already see the benefits: they have a better understanding of the properties and uses of their chemicals, which directly improves safe use in the supply chain.”

Not only Europe benefits from the knowledge collected under REACH, said Hansen.  The EU has become a global role model for chemicals safety. Legislators outside Europe “are inspired by REACH and benefit from the data that is publicly available.” ECHA maintains the world’s largest public regulatory database on chemicals.