Representatives of the lead-acid battery industry have agreed a deal with European regulators aimed at speeding-up and improving information available on registered substances.
The Lead REACH Consortium— which represents battery makers, lead producers and recyclers— said the signing of an agreement with the European Chemicals Agency (ECA) “represents a significant step for the sector to demonstrate cooperation with ECHA and to progress the safe use of metal compounds throughout the supply chain”.
The Metals and Inorganics Sectorial Approach (MISA) is a voluntary initiative established by ECHA and Eurometaux— which represents the non-ferrous metals industry— to “further improve the completeness and quality of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) dossiers and to advance technical and scientific issues related to metal compounds and inorganic substances”.
The Lead REACH Consortium has signed up to participate in MISA for lead metal, eight lead compounds that are REACH registered over 100 tonnes per year, and UVCB substances such as lead bullion and lead drosses. It is also the first consortium to submit their workplan on human health to ECHA as a result of MISA.
Lead REACH Consortium manager Lisa Allen said: “REACH is one of the most complex and thorough regulatory systems in the world, and anything that makes the process slicker and better for industry is welcome.”
“It is clearly essential that we’re able to update our dossiers where needed in a more coordinated, consistent, and transparent way,” Allen said.
“In particular, we are very grateful for the support provided by ECHA to resolve some of the metals-specific issues. This level of cooperation is good for industry, good for regulators, and something which we welcome and applaud.”
Last June, the ECHA announced it was proposing to add lead metal to the REACH candidate list of substances requiring authorisation. The Lead REACH Consortium warned then that the move would ban a key substance in battery manufacturing.
BEST Battery Briefing understands a closed-doors vote on the proposal could be held at either the December or February meetings of the REACH EU member states committee.
