High Attendance at first Rapra REACH Conference

Rapra Technology held its first international conference on the forthcoming European chemicals regulations known as REACH in Brussels.

Rapra Technology, a subsidiary of the US-based independent testing, consulting and contract research organisation, The Smithers Group, held its first international conference on the forthcoming European chemicals regulations known as REACH in Brussels.

The event took place over three days, with the main conference being held on April 17 and 18, with the third being day dedicated to focussed workshops.

REACH, which is the abbreviation used to describe the new legislation that will require the Restriction, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals, has been described as one of the most intrusive pieces of legislation to impact the European chemicals supply chain.

Although these new regulations are still some way from implementation, they are very complex and are causing concern across materials supply chains.

This is because they will undoubtedly have a major influence on not just the European chemical industry but also many of the downstream companies that use chemicals in their products.

This was clearly reflected in the large international audience of well over 200 attendees that represented a wide cross-section of industrial, governmental and legal organisations from both Europe and the rest of the world.

The conference was structured in such a way as to give as wide a perspective as possible on REACH, right across the chemicals supply chain from the manufacturers to end users.

The conference began with an opening keynote presentation by Otto Linher from the European Commission, who gave an update on the REACH regulations.

He was followed by Andrew Fasey, who was one of the original authors of these regulations.

Andrew continued the initial detailing of the current status of REACH and also discussed likely and possible future changes to REACH.

There then followed a session of six papers covering the necessary preparations for REACH and its likely implications.

The presentations in this session were given by a range of speakers from industry, consultancy firms, the legal profession and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The next session then focussed specifically on the impact of REACH on the polymer sector.

Polymers may well have an exemption from REACH but there are many specific issues relating to their formulation and the materials used to make the multi-component products that actually find practical application.

Presentations were given by organisations such as Ineos Vinyls, The European Flame Retardants Association and Lucite International, as well as several others.

After a long first day, there was an evening drinks reception sponsored by Keller and Heckman LLP, which offered delegates a further opportunity for some additional networking.

The first session of the second day gave the attendees an opportunity to hear about several specific case studies on REACH implementation from a wide range of organisations representing different parts of the chemical industry supply chain.

These included examples from both SMEs and large scale manufacturers such as Dow Corning, through to end users including the defence company, MBDA, and the Body Shop from the retail sector.

The likely cost implications of REACH vary widely, depending on who has undertaken the study and where the boundaries are set.

While there may be overall cost savings for the whole of European society, the impact on those companies actually making and using chemicals is likely to run to many billions of Euros.

The financial implications were therefore presented and discussed in session five of the conference by Steffen Erler of REACHReady and Wolfgang Ihme of RCC .

There then followed three papers in a session on testing, data collection and information sharing.

This is one of the more important and potentially costly aspects of REACH for producers and understanding how it will be collectively achieved is the key to avoiding unnecessary costs.

Derek Knight of SafePharm Laboratories gave a paper on REACH testing requirements.

This was followed by presentations on intelligent data collection strategies for chemical substances under REACH and on the technical issues around REACH data sharing and consortia building.

This two-day conference proved to be a very intense experience with a huge amount of information presented to the delegates.

In many cases the presentations raised as many new questions as they answered; such is the nature and complexity of the REACH Regulations.

In order to end the conference on a positive and encouraging note, the final session was on lessons already learned and opportunities for the future.

Dr Irene McGrath, from Rivendell International in Ireland detailed two more case studies highlighting specific approaches being taken to prepare for REACH.

The final presentation of the conference focussed on the opportunities that REACH might present.

Given by Richard Miller of the UK's Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network, this last presentation gave clear examples of how new thinking and the use of Green Chemistry approaches could bring significant benefits.

The REACH regulations are extremely complex, with many specific details that were beyond the scope of the formal conference presentations.

For this reason RAPRA very sensibly offered an additional third day of workshops that enabled delegates to focus on some of the more specific in-depth areas in a more informal and interactive environment.

Each of the workshops used a combination of presentations, group work, scenario planning and case studies to help participants to develop the tools needed to implement REACH within their own organisations.

As the REACH regulations continue to evolve and their potential ramifications become more widely understood, there will be a need for further updates and provision of the latest information.

Consequently, RAPRA is, next year, organising another REACH Conference and this time it is aimed at the North American companies that will be impacted by this European legislation.

The conference will take place on 15-17 April, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts.

For further details about this conference please contact Sharon Garrington sgarrington@rapra.net or visit the website www.polymerconferences.com To purchase a copy of the conference proceedings please contact Claire Griffiths cgriffiths@rapra.net or from the website.

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