Glossary

REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals. It is a European Union chemical-safety regulation that controls how chemical substances are manufactured, imported, used, and supplied in the EU. REACH entered into force in 2007 and is administered through the European Chemicals Agency, or ECHA.

The main idea behind REACH is that companies are responsible for understanding and managing the risks of the chemicals they place on the EU market. Under REACH, chemical substances manufactured or imported above 1 tonne per year per company generally must be registered with ECHA, and companies must identify the risks linked to those substances and explain how they are controlled.

REACH applies not only to raw chemicals, but also to mixtures and, in some cases, finished products known as articles. An article is an object whose shape, surface, or design is more important to its function than its chemical composition, such as a fastener, tool, machine part, electrical component, or coated product.

For manufacturers and distributors, one of the biggest REACH issues is whether a product contains a Substance of Very High Concern, often abbreviated SVHC. These are chemicals that may have serious health or environmental concerns, such as being carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction, persistent in the environment, bioaccumulative, or otherwise hazardous. If an article contains an SVHC above certain thresholds, suppliers may have communication, notification, or reporting obligations.

REACH can also restrict or require authorization for certain chemicals. A restriction limits or bans a substance in specific uses, products, or concentrations. Authorization means a substance of very high concern generally cannot be used for certain purposes unless specific approval is granted.

In fastener and industrial supply chains, REACH may matter because of coatings, platings, oils, sealers, paints, lubricants, passivation chemicals, chromates, polymers, rubber parts, packaging, or other materials associated with a product. For example, a steel bolt itself may seem simple, but its finish or coating chemistry could create REACH-related questions.