Under the EU's REACH regulation, Article 26 requires the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to make an inquiry to determine whether a substance that has not been registered should be registered. This inquiry is known as a "substance evaluation" and is intended to ensure that substances that are potentially hazardous to human health or the environment are identified and appropriately regulated.

 

The Article 26 inquiry may be triggered by various factors, including the potential for the substance to cause serious health or environmental impact, its volume of manufacture or import, or its uses. Typically, the inquiry involves requesting data from manufacturers, importers or downstream users of the substance, which then undergoes a technical review to determine the substance's hazard and risk profiles.

 

If the inquiry finds that the substance requires registration, the manufacturer or importer may be required to submit a registration dossier containing the necessary information and documentation to ensure the safe use of the substance. They may also be required to undertake further testing or risk assessments to ensure compliance with REACH regulations.

 

New Registrations: Article 26 inquiry is important in ensuring that substances that present risks to human health and the environment are identified and appropriately regulated, and that manufacturers and importers comply with REACH regulations.

 

Article 26 of the EU REACH regulation required the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to make an inquiry to determine whether a substance that had not been registered should be registered. However, in the UK, this function has been replaced by the "UK Prior Informed Consent" (PIC) regime, which is a separate regulatory framework introduced on January 1, 2021, alongside UK REACH.

 

Under UK PIC, companies that want to import certain chemicals into the UK or export them to non-EU countries must notify the UK authorities before doing so. The UK PIC regime operates in a similar way to the previous EU regime and covers chemicals listed in Annex I of the Rotterdam Convention. Under the UK PIC regime, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for managing the import and export notifications of certain chemicals.

 

Therefore, the UK does not have a direct equivalent of the Article 26 inquiry in UK REACH. However, chemical companies operating in the UK must meet the UK PIC requirements when importing chemicals into the UK or exporting them to non-EU countries. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in enforcement action being taken by the HSE.