Sector use maps are crucial to the efforts of authorities, industry and other stakeholders to ensure the safe use of chemicals, according to a joint announcement by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) and the Downstream Users of Chemicals Co-ordination (DUCC) group.
With final registration under the EU REACH Regulation just 18 months away, the three organisations said use maps, templates on which sectors can share how they are using different chemicals, would be increasingly important as smaller chemical companies become affected by the legislation.
The final registration deadline for chemicals already on the market is 31 May 2018 and covers companies that manufacture or import substances in low volumes, namely between one and 100 tonnes a year.
The agency expects up to 60,000 registrations will be prepared for around 25,000 substances, which is three times more than for either of the previous deadlines in 2010 and 2013.
It pledged to help industry by hosting maps on its website and promoting their application. Meanwhile, DUCC and Cefic promised to raise awareness and encourage companies to use information in the maps in their 2018 registrations and when updating registration dossiers.