Effect of company size on potential for REACH compliance and selection of safer chemicals
Introduction
Synthetic chemicals are essential to most industrial processes and formulated products, yet it continues to be difficult for product manufacturers to obtain useful information about chemical hazards and the risks associated with chemicals’ various applications. In addition, with today's complex and globally dispersed supply chains, the vast number of businesses and other actors that purchase components and finished products find it challenging – if not impossible – to know the identity of chemicals that make up those products. It is common for businesses not to know which chemicals compose finished products or the hazards and risks associated with those chemicals (Scruggs and Ortolano, 2011).
In 2006, the European Union passed sweeping new legislation to control the use of hazardous chemicals: the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The law applies to most chemicals (both new and existing) produced in or imported into the EU in quantities above 1 tonne/producer/year, as well as to chemical mixtures, and to finished products (known as “articles” in REACH). Full or partial exemptions exist for medicinal products, food additives, cosmetics, polymers, and radioactive substances, as well as for substances classified as waste, chemical intermediates, unaltered minerals, ores, oil, gas and coal, chemicals used exclusively for research, or those that are solely transported through the EU (REACH, 2006, UK REACH Competent Authority, 2012). The regulation became effective in 2007, with requirements phased in through 2018. In some respects, REACH has placed the burden of proof on chemical producers, who must provide basic information about their products to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) before placing them on the European market, a requirement dubbed “no data, no market”. The data gathering and information reporting requirements are unprecedented worldwide, and those requirements increase with production volume and for chemicals designated as of higher concern (based on their potential health or environmental effects) (REACH, 2006). Since REACH extends to European imports, it has effectively raised chemical reporting standards internationally, and several nations around the world are considering, or are in the process of, enacting similar legislation.
In many ways, REACH represents a global paradigm shift in chemical regulation, and it has introduced a new, complex regulatory process to which chemical producers and users throughout supply chains must adapt. The European Commission recently expressed concern that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not keeping pace with REACH and may need additional accommodation in order to meet the regulation's requirements (European Commission, 2013a).
This paper presents results of survey research to illustrate whether and how the business members of a large Scandinavian trade organization understand and comply with REACH. It also explores how these businesses obtain information about the chemicals they use in their products, and whether they feel that the information they have is sufficient to meet their needs. In addition, the paper describes how business size affects these issues.
Section snippets
The REACH regulation
In an effort to improve management and reduce the use of hazardous chemicals, REACH requires that: (1) chemical producers provide basic information on the identity and hazardous properties of their products as a condition of placing them on the market, with higher data requirements for higher production-volume chemicals; (2) suppliers of articles containing chemicals placed on the Candidate List for designation as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) communicate sufficient information
Methods
We designed a survey instrument based on knowledge gained from our previous case study interviews as well as information gained at REACH-related conferences and meetings in the EU. We worked with a staff member of a large Scandinavian industry organization4
Results
Of the 656 emails sent to companies in the sample, 612 (93%) were received successfully by a company representative; 44 emails were returned. We received 220 (36%) responses; of these, nine respondents did not fully complete the survey and six opted out, resulting in a total of 205 (33%) complete responses. Table 2 shows the distribution of the 205 survey respondents among the groups.
A survey question asked, “What is your company's role in the supply chain?” Respondents could choose from any
Limitations
Several elements of the study potentially limit the applicability of the results. First, the nature and size of the sample limits the strength of the findings. While we surveyed a significant portion of members within this industry organization, the sample is restricted to members of this particular trade association, which may be inherently more (or less) knowledgeable about REACH compared to other industry sectors. Furthermore, respondents may represent a subset of firms that are more engaged
Conclusions
In targeting a group of Scandinavian businesses located throughout consumer product supply chains, this study provides another unique data set to potentially inform ECHA's design of REACH-related assistance and support systems for SMEs. This study complements several other studies on REACH understanding, compliance, and effects of company size, and adds potentially useful data about information needs and flows in supply chains. The combined results may provide valuable input to ECHA's 2018
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the collaborating industry organization for making this survey possible. We are also grateful to the numerous respondents who gave their time to complete the survey as well as the pre-testers who helped us to improve our survey instrument. In addition, we thank Jessica Sebring and Rachel Moore for assistance with the figures and the literature review, respectively, and the anonymous reviewer whose helpful comments improved this paper. The research described in this article was
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