{"id":1818,"date":"2012-04-26T10:54:18","date_gmt":"2012-04-26T15:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/nanotechnology\/?p=1818"},"modified":"2012-06-29T09:26:04","modified_gmt":"2012-06-29T14:26:04","slug":"a-ray-of-sunlight-up-ahead-echa-to-release-more-information-through-reach-dossiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2012\/04\/26\/a-ray-of-sunlight-up-ahead-echa-to-release-more-information-through-reach-dossiers\/","title":{"rendered":"A ray of sunlight up ahead: ECHA to release more information through REACH dossiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Allison Tracy is a Chemicals Policy Fellow. <\/em><\/p>\n

After many months of increasing the quantity<\/em> but not the quality<\/em> of dossiers available to the public for chemicals registered under REACH, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has recently announced two improvements.\u00a0 (REACH is the European Union\u2019s regulation for the R<\/span>egistration, E<\/span>valuation, A<\/span>uthorization and Restriction of Ch<\/span>emicals.)\u00a0 According to the agency, the public will soon have access to more data from the dossiers that were submitted by companies as part of the first wave of REACH\u2019s Registration process.<\/p>\n

In a press release<\/a> issued a couple of weeks ago, ECHA announced that it will publish information from registered chemicals\u2019 Safety Data Sheets – including the identity of the registrant and whether the chemical was found to be Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT).\u00a0 And last week, ECHA said <\/a>it will also publish (by June) the aggregate production volume ranges (called \u201ctonnage bands\u201d) for chemicals registered under REACH. \u00a0These decisions will improve ECHA\u2019s record on disclosure and transparency by increasing the amount of both hazard and exposure data available to the public on chemicals in use.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In ECHA\u2019s most recent newsletter<\/a>, it notes that 92% of the more than 27,000 registration dossiers received have been disseminated so far.\u00a0 The disseminated dossiers cover more than 4,300 chemicals, while the dossiers yet to be published cover another 1,190 chemicals.\u00a0 Dossiers are being posted as they are released on ECHA\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While ECHA has continued to publish dossiers on a regular basis, and they provide some helpful data, ECHA has repeatedly faced complaints that the dossiers do not tell consumers what they want to know<\/a> (Chemical Watch<\/em>, subscription required). \u00a0Indeed, European NGOs have filed lawsuits<\/a> (Chemical Watch<\/em>, subscription required) against ECHA as a result of its refusal to release company identities and production volume data for a particular group of hazardous chemicals. \u00a0Even with these two new proposals for greater disclosure, European NGOs have expressed skepticism<\/a> about the completeness and timeliness of information that will become available.<\/p>\n

Although some of the problems with the dossiers have more to do with ease of access than with the information itself, improving the quantity and quality of information is essential.\u00a0 In this respect, ECHA\u2019s decision to publish information on the registrant identity, PBT status, and production volume will go a long way towards improving utility.\u00a0 Frankly, the dossiers have been lacking this crucial information since they began to be made available online more than a year ago.<\/p>\n

Confidentiality and public disclosure under REACH<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lack of basic information in the dossiers is particularly puzzling, given the rather clear specifications in REACH as to what information received from companies is to be disclosed.\u00a0 Articles 118 and 119 of REACH delineate three categories into which data submitted in dossiers can fall:<\/p>\n