EU’s REACH Less Expensive Than Anticipated

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|26 November 2007

An internal document of the European Commission (EC) relating to the implementation of REACH stated that manufacturers or importers should expect to pay between EUR 1,600 and EUR 31,000 for the registration of a normal chemical, depending on the quantity produced annually — a smaller amount than originally stated by the EC.

In addition, if several producers apply for a registration jointly, their fees are reduced by 25%. Small and medium-sized companies should also receive an additional discount on the standard fees, which would mean very small producers would pay a maximum of EUR 160 for the registration of materials produced in quantities of between 1 and 10 tonnes per year and EUR 3,100 for materials produced in quantities over 1,000 tonnes per year.

In addition to the cost of registration, there are costs to fulfill the necessary tests. This means the true cost of registering a chemical would cost between EUR 20,000 to over EUR 1 million. In total, EC estimates that REACH will cost the chemical industry up to EUR 2.3 billion.