Cefic REACH Action Plan: over 4,800 lead dossiers updated since 2019

Cefic has published the fifth annual report on its voluntary REACH Dossier Improvement Action Plan. Developed in coordination with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), it showcases ongoing efforts from the chemicals industry to update and improve chemical data in REACH registration dossiers.

“The EU chemical industry is committed to making REACH work, and the Action Plan shows the work being done by industry to ensure safety and good quality dossiers. Going forward, we will see how to adapt this Action Plan to potential new data requirements as we await further updates on REACH.” stated Steven Van de Broeck, Cefic Executive Director Product Stewardship.

Key Highlights from the 5th Progress Report

• Industry Participation: 200 companies, representing 1,172 legal entities, committed to enhancing their dossiers.

• Substances Re-Evaluated: 4,885 substances have undergone thorough re-evaluation since the beginning of the Action Plan in 2019. 951 substances were re-evaluated in 2023 alone.

• Future Projections: Over 5,200 substances are expected to be re-evaluated between 2019 and 2026, covering nearly 40% of the ECHA database for full registration substances.

• Dossier Updates: around 74% of the dossiers re-evaluated in 2023 (over 700 substances) have been or will be submitted with new experimental studies on the chemical or data adaptations like waivers and read-across. Among these, 180 substances involved higher-tier testing, while 234 included Annexes VII and VIII studies.

About the REACH Dossier Improvement Action Plan

The REACH Dossier Improvement Action Plan is a voluntary initiative, launched by Cefic in 2019, to help its members systematically review data in previously submitted REACH registration dossiers. The initiative is implemented in cooperation with ECHA, towards achieving better alignment between submitted data and the current ECHA requirements.