REACH Basics

REACH is a European Regulation concerning chemicals and their safe use. It is not a “REACH directive” but a Regulation, which means it applies directly in all Member States of the European Union and also in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as member countries of the European Economic Area. Unlike laws such as RoHS, REACH does not require transposition into national law.

The legislative text of REACH contains 15 Titles covering the different issues and responsibilities under the Regulation, such as Registration, Information in the Supply Chain, and Restriction. Each Title is divided into Chapters, with each Chapter sub-divided into Articles. As part of the legal text there are also 17 Annexes. The Articles of REACH tell us what we must do, the Annexes explain how to do it. REACH Regulation is a complex piece of legislation and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re new to it. But at REACHReady we’ve been helping people to get to grips with what they need to do ensure their compliance for years. We know what the essentials are and the pitfalls to beware of. And of course, the best approach to take to make sure that you tackle REACH in a cost-effective way.