REACH

1. What legislation applies for chemicals in Iceland?
   The Chemicals Act No 61/2013 encompasses general obligations regarding chemicals, mixtures and articles. REACH provisions are implemented through national Regulation No 888/2015 on REACH (only available in Icelandic).
   
   
2. What is the required language for Safety Data Sheets (SDS)?
   SDSs should be in Icelandic or English.
   
   Information extracted from chemical safety reports, attached as annexes to SDSs, may be provided in English.
   
   When only supplying small amounts (less than 1 kg per recipient per year) to recipients in research and development, who can be expected to know foreign languages due to their education or specialisation, the SDS provided may be in English, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish.
    
3. Is it necessary to send Safety Data Sheets to the Environment Agency?
   No, but information for the purpose of emergency health response should be submitted (for example by SDS) to the Poison Information Center at the Icelandic University hospital. Further information can be found here on their website.
    
4. How are REACH authorisations handled in Iceland?
   Applications for authorisation are handled by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
   
   The Commission decides on the granting of authorisations for substances included in Annex XIV of REACH. As per provisions in the EEA Agreement, once the Commission has taken a decision concerning authorisation, a concurring decision is taken by Iceland within 30 days.
   
   In effect, this means that authorisations granted by the Commission become valid in Iceland within 30 days. A list of granted authorisations can be found here (the page is in Icelandic, but links are provided to the appropriate summaries in English on EUR-Lex).
    
5. Who needs to register substances according to REACH?
   According to REACH, those who manufacture or import substances in quantities greater than 1 tonn per calendar year, wether they are pure or in a mixture, must register the substances to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). 
   
   Import means import into the European Economic Area (EEA). Substances, whether pure, in a mixture or article, may not be placed on the market unless they have been registered.
   
   Each importer must ensure that the quantity of the substance he imports is registered with ECHA. Thus, everyone who imports the substance into the EEA must take part in registration.
   
   Please see ECHA‘s information on registration.
    
6. What about chemicals and articles that are imported from countries outside the EEA, what obligations are on the non-EEA company?
   Non-EEA manufacturers and formulators exporting substances to the EU can appoint an "only representative" to fulfill the obligations of importers.
   
     The EU importer that sources substances from the non-EEA company must comply with REACH.Each importer must ensure that the quantity of the substance he imports is registered with ECHA.
   
   For further information see ECHA's webpage about non-EU companies.

More information on REACH can be found on ECHA's webpage.

Detailed questions and answers on REACH from ECHA can be found here.