ECHA C&L notification change – is your chemical organisation maintaining compliance?

Recent changes to the system for making notifications to the ECHA Classification and Labelling Inventory may have slipped past a lot of people’s notice. 

Previously, those submitting notifications were able to make submissions through the REACH-IT system either by submitting a IUCLID dossier containing the required information, or by filling out a simplified web form. Following the updates to REACH-IT launched at the end of April, the web-form is no longer available and duty holders must make submissions by uploading a dossier in IUCLID (i6z) format. 

Notification is a duty that often goes under the radar of many companies, but CLP Article 40 requires notifications to be submitted by suppliers who either manufacture or import hazardous substances within 1 month of placing goods on the market, and applies to single substances manufactured or imported into the EU or EEA, and to component substances of imported hazardous mixtures where the component is contributing to the hazard classification of the mixture. There is no minimum quantity threshold for the submission of these notifications.

The notification must include the following information:

• The name and contact details of the notifier,
• The identity of the substance, including the name and other identifiers, formula, composition, nature and amount of additives,
• The classification of the substance according to the CLP criteria, including the reason for "no classification" if the substance is classified in some but not all hazard classes or differentiations, e.g., data lacking or data conclusive for non-classification,
• Specific concentration limits or M-factors, if set by the supplier, including a justification for setting them; and,
• The label elements, including hazard pictograms, signal words, hazard statements and any supplemental hazard statements.

In addition, substances requiring REACH Registration (i.e., ≥ 1 ton per year) including non-hazardous substances, must be notified – normally accomplished through the submission of the registration dossier.

Once notified, suppliers must maintain their notifications should the classification of the substance change, and must make every effort to come to an agreement on the hazard classification of the substance if more than one classification has been notified. These requirements have been noted to have a poor compliance rate in recent years, leading to many old and incorrect entries remaining on the Inventory. 

More change coming

The forthcoming EU CLP Revision aims to address this. Anticipated to be published later this year, the revision will make several changes to notification requirements, including the publication of the names of notifiers (unless confidentiality can be claimed) and the date on which the notification was last updated. Suppliers will also have to provide justification if their notified classification does not agree with the most severe classification already notified, or if they are proposing a more severe classification than those currently included in the Inventory. 

Organisations should review their  Classification and Labelling Inventory notifications now to ensure compliance is maintained, or potentially face penalties where relevant substances have not been notified, or where notifications are out-dated. 

With experienced subject matter experts in chemical sector regulations and compliance, Ricardo can support businesses in placing, monitoring, and transporting chemical products across the globe. 

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