Responsibilities of the European Chemical Agency under REACH

A new Independent institution, the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), will be established after the new Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) has come into effect, in order to ensure effective management at the community level. The Agency shall be managed by an executive director. The secretariat shall undertake all tasks related to the registration, the management of dossiers and the coordination of the evaluation of chemicals. The Agency also comprises a management board and committees for risk assessment, socio-economic analyses, a member state committee, a forum and a board of appeal. The Agency shall provide the Member States and the institutions of the Community with the best possible scientific and technical advice on questions related to chemicals. The innovations under REACH will introduce some flexibility, such as waiving of standard tests and simplification of administrative procedures, in order to gain resources. Until now no regulation on chemical safety has required such a large work load in such a short time with implemented new tasks and methods.