What is REACH?

The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) Regulations were introduced by the European Chemicals Agency in 2007, with the aim of protecting users’ health and the environment through better understanding of chemical substances. Essentially, this means that all chemical substances used in the EU need to be tested and registered to prove that they are what they claim to be. This is important for in situ remediation projects where a responsible practitioner would want to be certain of what substances they are handling and injecting into the ground. Since 31st May 2018, all substances manufactured or shipped within the EU need to be registered under REACH (EU REACH).  Under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the EU REACH Regulation was brought into UK law on 1 January 2021 and is known as UK REACH.

At REGENESIS, we have assessed our full product portfolio and registered all appropriate substances.

Downstream User Obligations

Definition of ‘Downstream User’

If you are based in the EU or UK and are considering using any substance for remediation, then under EU and UK REACH, you are considered to be a ‘Downstream User’.

As a Downstream User, when considering the use of any product, it is advisable that you ensure your supplier is legally compliant under REACH regulations. This can be done by contacting your supplier to check the product you wish to use has been registered and looking on the Safety Data Sheet for the registration number.

Obligations under REACH

There are obligations about the usage of products under REACH too. At REGENESIS, we have strived to ensure that all the uses of our products are documented in the registration dossier for each specific substance.

As a Downstream User, you need to check that your intended use matches the conditions described in the exposure scenarios within the Safety Data Sheet. If your use is different from what has been envisaged, then the best thing to do is to call us to discuss your planned usage. We can then help you alter your usage or we may choose to modify the substance registration to cover this new use or you may choose to register the specific use directly with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) or The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK.

Further Information

For more information on EU and UK REACH and your obligations under these, please follow these links:

About downstream users (ECHA)

UK REACH Explained (HSE GOV UK)

Reach information in your own language (ECHA)