ECHA Publishes Updated List of Preregistered Chemical Substances
March 27, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
On March 27, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published an updated version of the List of Preregistered Substances. The list contains around 143,000 chemical substances that were preregistered by 65,000 companies between June 1 and Dec. 1, 2008.
ECHA has produced previous versions of the list, most recently on Dec. 19, 2008. The new list contains further improvements:
- CAS numbers are now provided for some substances that were previously identified only by chemical name.
- The search functions for the list have been improved.
- List numbers (in the format of EC numbers) are included for those substances without a current EC number to make registration easier.
The new list is important for companies who manufacture or import substances and who wish to find the correct SIEF (Substance Information Exchange Forum) for their substance. The list will help verify whether, in reality, certain pre-SIEFS cover the same substance and hence whether they should merge.
Finally, it will also help identify similar substances for read-across and formation of chemical categories. As a result, the list will help to ensure that data is shared, thereby minimizing animal testing.
The list is made up of preregistrations submitted by industry. In ECHA's opinion, the list contains many preparations and substances that did not require registration. ECHA advises companies to verify what registrations they need to make.
Background
The European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland, manages the regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the regulation EC/1272/2008 on classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures.
Together, they form the foundation for ECHA - with the aim of protecting human health and the environment, and ensuring the competitiveness of European industry. An important means to achieving this goal is to provide information that ensures the safe use of chemicals.
Further information
Updated list of preregistered substances can be accessed via the List of Preregistered Substances web page on the ECHA web site.
Source: European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).