CBA survey reveals Reach progress

A survey by the Chemical Business Association (CBA) has shown the progress being made by the UK supply chain towards Reach implementation.

Half of the CBA's distributor member companies responded to the survey.

Peter Newport, the association's director, said: 'At the pre-registration stage, it was far from clear how Reach implementation would develop in practice and many companies adopted a pre-cautionary approach in order to safeguard their commercial position.

The CBA companies responding to the survey had notified 8,000 substance pre-registrations to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

Of these, around 2,000 are likely to proceed to formal registration.

Newport added: 'If this conversion rate of 25 per cent applies more broadly, it will mean that the ECHA's original estimates for the number of full registrations will be massively exceeded.

The CBA has, therefore, restated its concerns that the ECHA revenue from registration fees will be much higher than predicted - and would not represent a funding shortfall, as is currently being claimed by the agency's executive director, Geert Dancet.

Newport continued: 'Given the limited amount of empirical evidence available, the CBA believes that the ECHA will be over-funded.

'The problem is compounded by the total absence of transparency in relation to the ECHA's revenue stream from Reach fees.

'The only sensible solution is for the European Parliament and European Commission - the joint architects of the Reach system - to accept full responsibility for funding the ECHA until its true level of revenue has been established, in 2011 or 2012.

'The ECHA can then invoice retrospectively for fees payable by December 2010,' he added.

In terms of the timescale applying to these registrations, the CBA survey shows that about seven per cent of substances will be registered by the first registration deadline of 1 December 2010, 13 per cent by 1 June 2013 and 80 per cent by 1 June 2018.

The CBA survey also examines the situation relating to substance information exchange forums (SIEFs).

It shows that only half the companies responding are currently engaged with a functioning SIEF - a response that seems to confirm the concerns recently expressed by both the ECHA and the Cefic (the European Chemical Industry Council).

Newport said: 'This is a worrying situation in relation to the overall implementation of Reach.

'While the CBA fully supports the ECHA-Cefic campaign to encourage SIEF formation, as most CBA members are smaller firms very few are in a position to push SIEFs forward on their own account,' he added.

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