This short guide has been prepared for those who are manufacturing or importing finished goods, which may be classed as “articles” or containers of chemicals under REACH, and need to know the obligations under REACH.
Of course, REACH isn’t the only piece of legislation to affect the supply of finished goods. There is added complication for many suppliers in that other EU legislation may apply; for example, toys, medical devices, electronic equipment, food packaging and other goods are covered by their own explicit requirements that go beyond the basics of REACH. However, these items are not exempt from REACH; compliance with REACH does not preclude the breach of other legislation.
Three basic scenarios have been identified and the obligations under each of these are described in this guide. If help is required in deciding which scenario fits your situation, REACHReady can offer advice to our Gold subscribers via our Helpdesk (enquiries@reachready.co.uk).
The term “supply” is used in this guide to define the activity of companies in the EEA that sell, give away or make available products, whether produced by them, produced by others within the EEA or imported from non-EEA countries. Not everyone will have the same legal requirements under REACH, but it is important to see the whole supply chain to make sense of the regulation.
These finished goods include many manufactured items that, in the early days of REACH, were considered to be articles. However, the interpretation of the term “article” from the official Guidance on Articles considers these products as containers of chemicals. A few examples of such containers are pens, printer cartridges, cans of spray paint and impregnated wipes such as wet wipes.
The ECHA guidance has clarified that desiccant bags and candles are containers and carriers respectively of chemicals, rather than articles with integral substances or mixtures.
To work out if this scenario applies to you the first thing to do is to find out if hazardous chemicals were used in the production of your goods. If you are the producer and the items are not complex, this task is comparatively easy; if you are importing or supplying finished articles, particularly comprising many sub-assemblies, you may need to rely on your suppliers for this information. The second stage is to consider the release of the substance: is it either deliberate or incidental.
Since 1 June 2011 a new REACH obligation has applied affecting many suppliers of articles such as finished goods, spare parts and components. Importers and producers of articles containing Candidate List substances present above 0.1% by weight (w/w) may need to submit a notification dossier to the European Chemicals Agency, ECHA.
