Around 60 participants gathered for the "Suppliers and Retailers - Good Practices to Adopt" conference held on Tuesday 7 June 2016 by the Helpdesk REACH&CLP Luxembourg with the support of the Ministries of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure and of the Economy.

The Helpdesk REACH&CLP Luxembourg is a service of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and provides national technical support advising companies on their obligations under the implementation of the European REACH 1 and CLP 22 regulations.

The Helpdesk regularly organises events for Luxembourg manufacturers but the first event of this year was focused on distributors and retailers, who are as much concerned by these regulations as chemical manufacturers, importers and users. Entitled "Suppliers and Retailers - Good Practices to Adopt" ("Fournisseurs et revendeurs - les bonnes pratiques à adopter" in French), the conference aimed to raise awareness of the different obligations faces by chemical suppliers.

Although their duties are lower compared to other actors in the supply chain, distributors and retailers have an important role to play, particularly in the communication of the possible dangers of chemical products. Throughout the supply chain, they communicate, in particular, via Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and labels and the transmission of information is a key step in allowing the safe use of substances, mixtures and articles containing chemicals, for business users as well as consumers.

Handling chemicals daily, consumers can also quickly learn about their possible dangers. Different databases are available, such as the "Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Non-Food Products" (RAPEX) , an early warning system of the European Union listing all dangerous consumer products.

The REACH & CLP regulations are however not the only ones impacting the position of chemical products on the market. Other legislation such as the Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR - EU Regulation 528/2012) also have an impact on retailers. The latter also have obligations they must meet concerning biocidal products such as household disinfectants and insecticides that they provide.

More information on upcoming Helpdesk REACH&CLP Luxembourg can be found under the "Agenda" section of www.reach.lu.