REACH – Best Practice Guide to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 is a highly due and very useful book dealing with arguably the most complex piece of European legislation so far.
With over 30,000 substances on the EU market above 1 tonne per year, legislation was needed to address a number of issues, from delays in assessing substances and lack of adequate information. The outcome of some six years of debates, techinical obstacles and legal issues is a piece of legislation extremely complex, both technically and legally. Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (the REACH Regulation) provides a single regulatory framework for the control of chemicals, replacing the previous set of controls, and ensures information on the properties of chemicals is transmitted down the supply chain and enables them to safely handled. The REACH Regulation is also at the base of the creation of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, Finland, fully operational since 1 June 2008.
Whit this in mind, editors and contributors to the book under review should be commended for taking on the challenge to provide one of the few major works available on the REACH Regulation. As explained by the editors in their preface, the book intends to systematically address the most important issues arising from, and to provide a ready reference and information about the key subjects of, the REACH Regulation.
Divided into 16 detailed Chapters, the book covers all the relevant issues from initial registration of chemical substances to the final enforcement of the obligations under the REACH. It would go beyond the scope of this review to set out all of the individual chapters. It suffices here to say that the team of contributors includes not only lawyers active in this field but also members of companies providing assistance to companies in dealing with all the technical and bureaucratic aspects of the new regulatory framework. This combination of experiences is a winning point of the book which navigates the reader through legal aspects as well as the equally overwhelming formalities imposed by the REACH regulation. Indeed, the book contains many examples and samples of documents, together with explanations and suggestions, used for the purposes of the regime at hand. Also very useful is a pro-active approach in dealing with a number of issues still open in the sense that there is still no clear indication or consolidated practice. In such cases, the authors review the available interpretations and options and offer their personal view.
It is also worth mentioning that, following the publication of the book, the Commission has concluded that REACH functions well and delivers on all objectives assessed. Although some needs for adjustments have been identified, the Commission affirmed that there was no reason to propose any changes to the enacting terms of REACH although within the current framework, there is a need to reduce the impact of REACH on SMEs. Therefore, the content of the book has not been made obsolete by legislative updates. Yet the reader should read and use the book by looking at some judgments delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union which deal with some of the issues treated in the book.
In conclusion, and despite some minor change that may be implemented or envisaged in the short period, the book is an essential tool for companies and their legal advisers required to deal with REACH. It is written by experts with first-hand knowledge and practice, but explains in comprehensible language with a wealth of examples. No doubt that the book will become a reference text on REACH.
Riccardo Sciaudone
Head
Reviewed May 2015