ASTM Declarable Substances Committee Publishes New REACH Standard

A new ASTM International standard will assist industry with a communication tool in order to comply with the European Union's Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, more commonly referred to as REACH. ASTM F2725, Standard Guide for European Union's Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) Supply Chain Information Exchange, was developed by Subcommittee F40.02 on Management Practices and Guides, part of ASTM Committee F40 on Declarable Substances in Materials.

"Due to the need for supply chain communication, REACH is as much a supply chain challenge as it is an environmental health and safety challenge," says AJ Guikema, REACH Program Manager at Tetra Tech, Ann Arbor, Mich, USA and Chair of the task group that developed F2725. The new standard will assist companies that manufacture, buy or sell, or both, substances, preparations and articles to ensure that supply chains comply with the REACH regulation by identifying the specific elements of information that must be specified, requested and exchanged in communication between actors in the supply chain.

F2725 provides step-by-step instruction throughout the inventory process, including planning and processing orders; handling; and transporting and storing of all materials purchased, processed or distributed among players on the chain to fulfill compliance requirements. The standard also includes case studies to show the process of exchanging data for three representative scenarios. "The use of case studies to illustrate the information exchange process is particularly helpful and is applicable for small companies that manufacture or buy/sell substances and articles up to the large OEMs," says Roland Chin, Q&R Engineering Manager at Intel Corp., Hillsboro, Ore, USA and Chairman of Subcommittee F40.02.

The European Union's RoHS directive and REACH regulation — designed to help improve human health and the environment — affect companies and consumers throughout the global supply chain for manufactured goods. Many companies impacted by REACH have key suppliers and customers in all parts of the world, and F2725 is an important international standard that will assist global compliance efforts by facilitating greater collaboration and operational efficiencies.

Other initiatives discussed during Committee F40's recent meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, were the development of a new x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy test method that describes a procedure for identification and quantification of restricted substances in polymeric materials; and updates to ASTM F2576, Standard Terminology Relating to Declarable Substances in Materials.

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