The obligations of the downstream user in the REACH communication
REACH knowledge base – The obligations of the downstream user in the REACH communication
The obligations of the downstream user in the REACH communication in practice
In practice you have to make sure whether the supplier knows and meets the requirements of the REACH regulation. You have to ask for a supplier statement in which they declare that they know these requirements and also respect them. In addition, they have to also declare that they check their own suppliers wheter they carry out their activities in accordance with the REACH Regulation. The statement should also cover the REACH registration of the supplied substances. Information given about the possible causes of non-registration may be of particular relevance (e.g.: reasons for exemptions).
You can provide information to your suppliers on your identified uses and terms of use, including risk management measures, enabling them to add these information to the registration dossier.
It is not mandatory, but if the supplier mentions your identified use in the documentation, this can greatly assist you in meeting your obligations. You should also be prepared to answer questions about the identified uses.
Providing information regarding articles
If you manufacture an article containing a substance on the candidate list in concentrations of 0.1 % w/w or more in the article, you are obliged to forward information on safe use to the recipients of the article you produce.
Receiving information from consumers
Buyers can also provide information about their own use, requesting their use to become an identified use.
If you supplied a mixture to your buyer, for which you also attached a safety data sheet with an exposure scenario, such a request may indicate that the conditions of use for your buyer are not covered by your exposure scenario.
The requests must either be forwarded to the supplier or resolved in your own jurisdiction (e.g.: updating the safety data sheet).
Providing information for suppliers on new hazard information
Obligations imposed by Articles 34 and 38 of REACH on the communication obligations of the holder of the new data.
“New information” means information not communicated earlier to you by your supplier relevant for the substance or preparation you are using and which is not available in public databases or literature.
For non-classified substances and mixtures, you may not receive any information from your supplier at all. In this case, the obligation to inform suppliers about “new information” also applies. New information could be observations on any adverse effects on human health or the environment (e.g. observations on acute human health effects at workplace) or, if you have carried out testing of substances and mixtures, results of those tests.
All participants in the supply chain – together with the distributor – shall communicate such information received from the buyers to the next actor or distributor up the supply chain.
If you classify a substance, and your classification is different from that of all of your suppliers, you must report your classification to ECHA. If the reason for the differing classification is a different interpretation of the existing data, then it must be notified to the Agency only. However, if you use such new data for the classification which were not considered by your supplier earlier, you must also inform the supplier. All notifications to the Agency should be made through REACH-IT.
The obligation to notify the different classification applies only to the substance used in quantities of at least 1 tonne per year, either alone or in a mixture (REACH Article 38 (5)). If you are exempted from making a downstream user chemical safety report on the basis that you use the substance or mixture in quantities of less than 1 tonne per year, you should report it even if you use less than 1 tonne of substance annually.
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