Browsing by Author "Kortelainen, Mai"
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Kemiantekniikan korkeakoulu | Bachelor's thesis(2013-04-23) Kortelainen, Mai - The REACH authorisation procedure – Follow-up and prediction as a downstream user
Kemian tekniikan korkeakoulu | Master's thesis(2015-11-10) Kortelainen, MaiREACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) is the current chemicals regulation that came into effect in the EU area in 2007. Since then, all the different elements of the regulation have affected operations in chemical utilising industries. Especially the novel legal instrument introduced by REACH, the authorisation procedure, influences functions of chemical users, such as industrial companies. The aim of REACH authorisation is to reduce and/or prohibit the use of substances that can cause hazard to human health, or the environment. This is conducted by identifying so called Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs), which are listed on the Candidate List. From there, SVHCs are gradually moved to the Authorisation List, and hence they become fully authorised. This means that every specific use of these substances must be applied for. For chemical downstream users it would be advantageous to be able to anticipate the course of the authorisation process, to enable early provisions for changes in operations. The literature part of the thesis deals with issues related to this. These include observing the different stages of the process, acknowledging what kind of substances are likely to be identified as SVHCs, and considering the backgrounds SVHC proposals may have. It turned out that most of the current Candidate and Authorisation List SVHCs are so called CMR substances (carcinogen, mutagen, toxic for reproduction), while substances causing environmental harm are less represented. As for influences affecting SVHC selection, they may be absorbed from research processes of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), or listings of unwanted substances compiled, e.g., by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), trade unions and industrial companies. Media coverage was also found to boost the regulation of some chemical substances. It was also observed that certain EU Member States seem to be active in the regulatory processes, while others have not taken part at all. The case study part of the thesis considers the follow-up and prediction of chemicals legislation, and especially the REACH authorisation procedure, at a multinational company, based on the use of an online solution called EcoArchive. It was discovered that following the intended SVHC proposals, listed on the ECHA Registry of Intentions (RoI), would be a useful addition to the current follow-up pattern of the subject company. Additionally, it turned out that the follow-up of the authorisation process is challenging because of variable time spans that cannot be accurately predicted. All in all, it was concluded that keeping up and complying with the chemicals legislation requires constant awareness, as e.g. substitutions of possibly harmful substances have to be considered rather commonly.