According to Adrian Waddams, manufacturing manager at the British Marine Federation (BMF), this pre-registration of chemicals will affect those companies that manufacture or import chemicals into the EU. It will also affect downstream users who must ensure that their suppliers are compliant with REACH pre-registration requirements.

'Pre-registration is free if carried out before 1 December 2008, but failure to pre-register will require the full registration process to be undertaken before further sale of the product concerned, and that will incur a fee,' he told Boating Business.

Under the REACH requirements, manufacturers or importers of chemicals will have to pre-register chemicals if they want to continue to use them without interruption. The legislation is an EU Regulation developed to help importers and manufacturers of chemicals (such as the plastics industry) to assess and manage any health or environmental dangers posed by these materials.

Companies that do not pre-register a chemical cannot continue manufacturing or importing it after 1 December 2008 until they make a full registration with the ECHA.

For information about REACH, see: REACH: from substances to finished products; http://www.performance-materials.net/htm/f20070327.654507.htm ; or: New European chemicals agency starts operations; http://www.performance-materials.net/htm/f20070720.530473.htm