THINK CHEMICALS! THINK SAFETY!

For the safe use of chemical products… 

The legislative framework and the problem

REACH is a regulation of the European Union, adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals. REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization of Chemicals.

The CLP Regulation ensures that the hazards presented by chemicals are clearly communicated to workers and consumers in the European Union through the classification and labelling of chemicals. CLP stands for Classification, Labelling and Packaging.

Companies that supply chemical products are obliged to provide worker and consumers with updated Safety Data Sheets (SDS) according to the Regulation 2015/830/EU.

Although according to the regulations REACH, CLP and 2015/830 the hazards are being communicated by the companies through the Safety Data Sheets and the Labels of the products, in reality very little information reaches the workers and the consumers. The labels contain limited information and the Safety Data Sheets are steadily becoming very large, scientific documents, that are very difficult to navigate through.  

The solution is… WICs!  

Acknowledging the need, for workers and consumers, to be able to retrieve the information they require in an easy and effective way, SustChem Engineering ltd in cooperation with the Hellenic Association of Chemical Industries and the Hellenic Coatings Association has developed the project “READ”. The READ is an online platform that is designed to create Workplace Instruction Cards (WICs) out of the Safety Data Sheet.

Workplace Instruction Cards (WICs) are limited length cards that contain all the necessary information a worker or a consumer needs to know about the safe use of chemical products. The WICs provide first aid information, firefighting instructions, personal protective equipment suggestions and disposal instructions. There is no information on the WIC that might violate the confidentiality of the formulation or other trade secrets of the product. 

The Scope and the Experts’ View

READ aims to become a point of reference for the safety of the workers, the consumers and the environment. Using its dissemination channels (website, mobile application and other), READ has managed to raise the awareness of the public concerning the safe and responsible use of chemical products. The project promotes the implementation of good practices regarding the handling, the storage and the disposal of everyday chemicals.  READ is addressed not only to the users speaking the Greek language, but is also available in the Albanian, Bulgarian, Serbian and English language.

The Hellenic Association of Chemical Industries (HACI) and the Hellenic Coating Association (HCA) that cooperate in implementing the project, strongly believe that READ promotes the health and safety of workers, consumers and the environment, while it broadens the participating companies reach and burnishes its reputation.   

Why READ?

You are invited to participate voluntarily to the READ project by suppling the Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) of your products. Furthermore, through the platform, your company can take advantage of the following benefits:

• promote your products competitive advantages, such as Ecolabel certification or carbon footprint

• WICs can be used as part of your corporate social responsibility (CSR) business model.

• the experts on the European chemical legislation of the “READ” team will check the completeness of the Safety Data Sheets you provide and the quality of the content of the WIC.

All of the above services and benefits are provided free of charge.

 

Fore more information:

More information about the beneficiaries implementing the project: