The European Chemicals Agency ECHA has announced yesterday that it will publish
more information on its Website. Certain information from the registration
dossiers that is contained in the Safety Data Sheet, including the names of
registrants, will be published on the ECHA dissemination web section in the
future. Companies will be able to keep this information confidential, provided
that a valid justification is given and accepted by ECHA.

The access to information has been a topic of public debate since the
availability of the databases.

This extension of ECHA's dissemination practice follows a legal interpretation
by the European Commission Services and the advice of its Management Board. The
opinion of the Commission Services states that in particular the name of a
registrant is part of the information to be disseminated by the Agency, as it
is contained in the Safety Data Sheet.

Registrants of hazardous substances can claim confidentiality to protect their
commercial interests, provided they give a valid justification and pay the
corresponding fee. ECHA will then assess the confidentiality claims. The names
of registrants of non-hazardous substances will be published on a voluntary
basis.

In addition to the registrant's name, ECHA will also make further elements
contained in the Safety Data Sheet publicly available such as the REACH
registration number and whether the substance meets the criteria for PBT or
vPvB.

This extension of the information to be published requires significant
technical revisions to IUCLID and REACH-IT. Therefore, the dissemination of the
additional information cannot be released in the immediate future. Moreover,
registrants need to be given adequate time to adjust to the changes and add
confidentiality claims to their dossiers if appropriate.

More information

AplusA-online.de - Source: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work