REACH & The Nickel Directive
REACH - The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
REGULATION (EC) No 1907/2006 18 December 2006
The current Marketing and Use Directive ends on the 1st June 2009 when it is replaced by REACH, which is intended to control the import, use and release of substances in the EU.
Restrictions covered by the Marketing and Use Directive will be carried over into Annexe 17 of REACH.
Entry 27 of Annexe 17 imposes the same restrictions on the use of Nickel in Jewellery and Fashion Accessories as the present Nickel Directive 2004/96/EC. It also calls for the same approved testing methods to be used in order to show compliance. The full document can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk/reach/resources/regulation.pdf
If you are an importer bringing articles into the EU, as opposed to raw materials, you will not be required to register under REACH* unless a substance is present in those articles in quantities totalling over 1 tonne per producer or importer per year; and the same substance is intended to be released under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use.
*but Entry 27 applies and you must still show compliance.
You will be required to notify the appropriate body if, in the unlikely event, your items contain a substance on the list of Substances of Very High Concerní (SVHC). The SVHC list has not been finalised but a continually updated candidate list can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/reach
Further information is also given in the UK REACH Competent Authority Information Leaflet 9 REACH and Articles - May 2008
If you have any doubt about the composition of an item, or need to show proof of the composition, Sheffield Assay Office Analytical Services can provide a prompt and reliable solution.
For further guidance and information please contact :
Telephone +44 (0)114 231 2121
analytical@assayoffice.co.uk
