We are rapidly approaching the year 2007 when REACH, a highly controversial new EU regulation on chemical substance assessment is expected to enter into force. Any metal or substance not registered by the REACH deadline would no longer be legally permitted onto the EU market. The implications to industry are very significant.
Achieving compliance with this regulation will be a complex, time-consuming and expensive process. The EU themselves recommend the formation of industry wide consortia to deal with the issue in an efficient manner. ITRI and its subsidiary Tin Technology, have initiated preparations for REACH on behalf of tin producers and are now requesting manufacturers and users of the metal and its inorganic compounds to make contact with them in order to discuss how the industry will be affected, and most importantly, how it can work together most effectively to achieve compliance.
“This is a challenging task. Our goal is to support the tin industry in the EU by working to gather the information that will be required for registration dossiers on tin metal and inorganic tin” comments Kay Nimmo, Environmental Affairs Manager, ITRI. “We are looking forward to discussing the issue with tin users in order to make sure that accurate information on their industrial processes is included in the dossier that will need to be submitted.”
REACH aims to increase the level of protection of human health and the environment from hazards posed by chemicals. It requires every chemical substance, including metals, produced or supplied to the EU market in quantities of 1 tonne and more per year to be registered by producers of the substance. Assessment of the safety of uses down the supply chain is also required, and only processes specified in the data dossier for tin will be classed as registered under the REACH regulation. Tin metal is a high volume substance used at levels of more than 1,000 tpa and thus only has 3 years to register.
ITRI is the only global organisation representing all areas of the tin industry and we ask that manufacturers and users contact us as soon as possible to discuss the most effective way we can co-operate in dealing with REACH.
