REACH Authorisation:ECHA committees recommend 12 year review period for Grupa Azoty S.A.

ECHA’s Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) have recently published their final ‘combined’ opinion on the industrial use of trichloroethylene as a process chemical in caprolactam purification.  The use was applied for in an application for authorisation submitted in August 2014 by Grupa Azoty S.A., one of Poland’s largest chemical companies.

RPA and their authorisation associates, FoBiG, were responsible for the development of the application dossier and collaborated with Grupa Azoty S.A. throughout all stages of the process.

In the opinion, the RAC concluded that the risk managements measures and operating conditions described in the application were “appropriate and effective in limiting the risk to workers and the general population” and according to the SEAC “benefits of continued use that by far outweigh the risks” were demonstrated.

The RAC did not provide advice on the proposed length of the review period to SEAC, which concluded that 12 years was appropriate based on the information submitted by the applicant and the committees’ pre-established criteria.

Marek Pabis, Grupa Azoty S.A. REACH Representative, hailed the recommendation as a “tremendous success for both the consultants and the company”,  adding that Grupa Azoty S.A is very satisfied with the opinion, which will allow sufficient time for the company’s transition to a feasible alternative, as essential for our future business survival”.

Discussing the parties’ collaborative efforts, Mr Pabis noted that cooperation and communication with RPA and FoBiG was “smooth, fast and effective”.  “They are committed to the job, responsible, punctual, reliable and always ready to assist and help. Both companies possess considerable expertise and the experience required to elaborate an authorisation application. Grupa Azoty had already cooperated with them and they had always been successful in previous projects. Their contribution was enormous”.

The combined opinion will now be sent to the European Commission who will take the final decision on the application.  A summary of the decision will be published in the Official Journal of the EU.

This favourable opinion is one of several that RPA have helped authorisation applicants to attain.  If you would like to find out more about RPA’s REACH compliance services please click here.

The full list of RAC and SEAC adopted opinions on applications for authorisation is available here.