The demands made of downstream users of chemicals and the provisions that they must comply with under the REACH Regulation were the subject of the first BYK Downstream Users’ Day at the end of September in Düsseldorf.
The REACH legislation defines the obligations for all actors along the supply chain of chemicals. The most important duty of the downstream users is to constantly minimize the risks involved in handling and using substances. The main focus of attention here must be on exposure scenarios and, with that, the extended safety data sheets.
With a production or import volume for a substance of more than 10 metric tons annually, the manufacturer or importer must produce a chemical safety report as part of the registration process. Under certain conditions, he will be obliged to produce exposure scenarios for the identified uses of the substance itself and to make them known on registration. The downstream user must make use of substances under the conditions described in the exposure scenario. He must check whether his uses are covered by the exposure scenarios listed. If they are not covered, he can ask his upstream supplier to produce an exposure scenario for the use concerned. This check can be very complex and costly.
To assist the customer with this task, BYK played host in September to a one-day workshop. The 40 workshop participants were informed through a series of lectures about the obligations of downstream users, the exposure scenarios, and the related implications. Hands-on training under the supervision of the company‘s REACH specialists rounded off this informative day.
Once the event was over, the organizers assessed it a positive light. “Especially where their obligations as downstream users are concerned, our customers still need clarification,” Dr. Gerald Kirchner, Head of Innovation Management believes. “Yet our experts have succeeded in communicating this very complex material in a clear way.”