Cefic has suggested the idea of fast-tracking certain types of EU registrations of chemicals to meet urgent demand during the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis.
In an interview with Chemical Watch, Cefic product stewardship executive director Sylvie Lemoine praised the European Commission and Echa for engaging "swiftly and constructively" with business groups to tackle supply chain and regulatory bottlenecks.
Echa has already pushed back deadlines for some activities, such as the start of its completeness checks of the chemical safety reports that form part of some REACH registrations, and Cefic has welcomed such actions.
The idea of fast-tracking, Dr Lemoine said, would be for substances used as ingredients for urgently needed pharmaceuticals; new ingredients that were previously produced elsewhere but now need to be produced in Europe for the first time; or for substances produced by companies that are newcomers to the market.
Another category of registration that deserves a faster process during the Covid-19 crisis, says Dr Lemoine, covers those that become necessary because a merger or acquisition changes the legal entities that produce the substance.
She adds that Cefic is "not calling for a permanent change or anything new – just a need to be conscious of the needs of critical supply chains".
Cefic is 'not calling for a permanent change or anything new – just a need to be conscious of the needs of critical supply chains'
Cefic’s number one priority, says Dr Lemoine, is to identify and remove all the bottlenecks – whether related to transport and supply chains or to regulatory compliance. For product stewards and compliance managers the situation is "business as usual – with more stress".
Cefic, she adds, remains committed to working "in parallel" with the Commission on key policies. These include the chemicals strategy for sustainability – now expected in September – and the action plans on the circular economy and zero-pollution. And for its members, regulatory compliance remains a priority, together with health and safety and serving the needs of society.
Blanket delay dismissed
Questions have been raised about possible extensions to regulatory timeframes amidst the pandemic. German pan-industry body BDI, on behalf of a membership including chemical industry body VCI, has gone further by calling for a sweeping postponement of most REACH risk management processes for at least six months.
In contrast, Dr Lemoine says Cefic "is not calling for blanket delays". But "for some processes, and on a case by case basis", she says there are difficulties to meet the deadlines and delays may be unavoidable.
"The industry is doing its best to comply with all regulatory deadlines, wherever possible, and contribute to consultations to the extent possible. However, when it comes to immediate consultations on substance cases and deadlines on submitting test data to Echa, we recognise there may be issues beyond our control."
Cefic, she added, has been receiving reports from members about delays in procuring and scheduling new studies and finalising existing work. "Some SMEs also had to close down for quarantine. We are documenting all these cases and are discussing them with Echa and the Commission to look for solutions together."