More than 60 participants took part in the ninth edition of the Networking Lunch held by the REACH & CLP Helpdesk of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) on Thursday 3 December 2015, as part of European SME Week.
With the support of FEDIL-Business Federation Luxembourg, Entreprise Europe Network, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure and the Ministry of the Economy, the event informed participants of their obligations in the face of the European REACH ('Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals' and CLP ('Classification, Labelling and Packaging') regulations.
2015 saw various developments emerge within the context of these regulations, including the adoption of new restrictions such as those made to lead and its compounds and benzene; new Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) added to the list of the authorisation procedure, such as the mixture of diesters of alkyl and a substance identified for its persistent and very bioaccumulatuve properties; the mandatory nature of the implementation of the CLP Regulation since 1 June 2015 and its application to 'product groups' such as plant protection products and biocides; and the designation of the Belgian Poison Centre on 2 June 2015 as the body responsible for receiving information specific to requirements for all hazardous mixtures placed on the Luxembourg market, especially in the formulation of preventive and curative measures.
The REACH and CLP Regulations came into force in 2007 and 2009 and companies are invited to fulfil their obligations by rigourously monitoring their substances.
Companies must now begin preparing for the last registration deadline in 2018, which concerns substances manufactured or imported between 1 and 100 tonnes every year, and the seven distinct steps from the identification of substances subject to regulation to holding registration updates in order to make it more accessible to SMEs. For each of these steps, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) provides support to companies by offering information on registered substances on its website http://echa.europa.eu and information on the classification and labelling of substances on its C & L inventory database.
Information helping Luxembourg companies to identify their obligations and comply with the REACH and CLP regulations is also available at www.reach.lu, where the Helpdesk team will be posting its action programme for 2016 which is currently being prepared.
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