Chemical Companies Face Both Data Management and Communications Issues from REACH

July 8th, 2008

The biggest challenge in the new global regulatory environment created by REACH will be informational, according to Marc Dillon our Senior Product Manager. In order to be in compliance, chemical manufacturers will need to have all their information readily available in a single location that is auditable and verifiable.

The first step in managing this aspect of the challenge is to simply identify what information is actually needed. We suggest working with stakeholders in the organization to identify sources of information, gather up that data, evaluate the completeness and then try to fill in any existing holes. But maintaining and managing all this information can create its own set of challenges unless you know what to do with it.

Dillon recommends storing the information in a single database that allows users to query the information in multiple ways, view the information and then create the necessary reports. For example, with REACH you need to have information available for submission to the European Chemical Agency’s (Helsinki) IUCLID-5 application (this is the International Uniform Chemical Information Database, which serves as a common format to submit pre-registrations and registrations).

Our Essential Suite™ lets users export information out of their own database and put it into a format that is accepted by IUCLID-5. This is a time and, more importantly, error saver compared to the alternative of going to the agency’s website and filling out forms manually. But you wouldn’t want to buy something for a single use, and we’ve been careful to design Essential Suite so the information it collects can be used in many ways.

The advantage of a multiple-use system like Essential Suite, says Dillon, is that the information is available and can be accessed for other needs as well. The same system and information can be used to do things like generate labels and manage MSDS for chemicals that are stored and tracked in the system in order to comply with product stewardship initiatives.

Aside from the obvious benefit of serving as a data repository, Essential Suite can be used for multiple EH&S needs such as crisis management, risk management and compliance because the required information for associated reports is simply an output of the system.

REACH and other product stewardship initiatives are creating challenges related to what one expert refers to as the “communications circle,” or information sharing between external and internal business partners.

We regard REACH as a compliance issue; but it’s just as important to recognize that it is a supply chain issue. The entire supply chain is affected by REACH and everyone in that supply chain has to be in the know and in compliance for it to work. This is another case in which the information you have collected once, can be managed and output again.

Tags: chemicals compliance iuclid 5 msds product stewardship reach supply chain

Entry Filed under: Sustainability, Product Stewardship, Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC)