When can we all get back to the business of doing business? It is thought that when you add it all up, regulation takes up 20% or more of a company’s time and resources. Should we follow the example of others and take to the streets, demonstrate, riot, use our redundant stock to paint slogans on placards and graffiti on government buildings? I think not, but we have to find ways to deal with reducing the extraordinary burden that REACH and other legislation in the pipeline is imposing on the industry. It seems that REACH has become the father of future generations of regulation. Are you up to speed, do you have a business plan for life under REACH?
Two weeks ago Peter Rieck was asking here if the coatings industry is seeing a battle between REACH and Carbon Footbrin to dominate technology. REACH 2010 just ended in November 2010. Now the second stage of REACH is already visible on the horizon. The next REACH registration deadline is May 2013 - only two years away.This will apply to substances produced or imported into the EU at ≥100 tonnes per year per manufacturer or importer. These registrations will bring a new set of challenges. How will this second stage of REACH influence the European Coatings Industry?
It’s very true that Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of CHemicals (REACH) is probably one of the most used terms for the chemical industry - and also true that it could be nominated for the award of the most negative buzzword of recent years. However, I firmly believe that REACH polices have benefited our industry. They have meant a reduction in animal testing and a more structured system, which can only benefit us moving forward.
REACH is one of the most used terms for the chemical industry - and could be nominated for the award of the negative buzzword of several years – it’s just a question of who you ask in the companies. I have quite controversial feelings about the REACH policy. On the one hand the question is not whether I want to be in touch with toxic or dangerous materials and I don't simply know the impact of special substances even in the smallest concentration in coatings and materials. On the other hand I don’t have a clue about some substances if they really harm me. So there is a feeling left that the reaction to set up such a huge regulation, including lots of manpower over years, seems to be exaggerated.
