ReFaC expresses REACH concerns

The absence of technical resources in many smaller firms is threatening REACH compliance, REACH facilitation company ReFaC says. “At ground level, many smaller firms are finding REACH a real challenge,” says ReFaC development manager Dr Darren Staniforth. “Compliance with such a complex regulatory regime requires a level of technical resource that many smaller firms just do not possess. There is also the added concern that many smaller companies are assuming that another element of the supply chain will deal with REACH compliance on their behalf. In our experience this assumption is unsafe.”

While the first REACH deadline this month will involve only about 4 per cent of the commercial chemical inventory and affects higher volume chemical substances and toxic agents, later deadlines that apply to lower tonnage substances will, ReFaC warns, be of much more direct concern to smaller firms. “Many companies are unaware that it can often take up to two years to compile a full registration dossier from scratch, depending on a company’s position in the chemical supply chain,” Staniforth explains. “This means that for substances affected by the 2013 REACH deadline, companies should now be seeking specialist help.”

With the pressure on industry mounting, ReFaC reports that demand for its Third Party Representative services is increasing from European companies with ever more companies from outside the EU seeking it out to act as an Only Representative. “There is a growing demand for competent, cost-effective REACH compliance backed by toxicological expertise, which is exactly the market ReFaC was created to service,” he says.

“Managed by the industry for the industry”, ReFaC, it asserts, has two clear objectives, to provide companies with cost-effective compliance and, wherever possible, to reduce the burden of administration imposed by REACH. Primarily focusing on serving the needs of small and mediumsized companies, ReFaC’s expertise is available to chemical producers, distributors, service providers, downstream users and trade associations regardless of where they are based. Importantly, the company delivers REACH compliance using its own staff and industry knowledge and should therefore not be mistaken for simply being “a clearing house for consultancy services”.

www.refac.eu