REACH Compliance

The European Union REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 became effective June 1, 2007. REACH legislation puts all responsibility on industry, not government, to demonstrate the safety of chemical substances and to manage the risks that chemicals may pose to human health and to the environment. Spirit AeroSystems is educating its suppliers regarding REACH legislation.

REACH legislation impacts suppliers who:

• manufacture or import chemical substances or mixtures of chemical substances (preparations).
   
• produce or import articles (i.e. construction materials, electronic components, vehicles, aerospace components) that contain substances included in a list of “substances of very high concern” or are released during their use.
   
• process chemicals or formulate preparations for end use (for example, cleaning or etching products, paints, lubricants) or use these formulated products professionally.

Suppliers should take advantage of the preregistration option available in REACH. This allows for a transitional period to the registration process and allows continued production and use of substances, depending upon annual tonnage, until 2018. Without registration, substances cannot be marketed in the European Union.