How to read CLP classifications in REACH dossiers

CLP classifications can be read directly from the REACH dossiers. Before using the classification, you may need to consider whether the REACH dossier is good quality, see: Is a REACH dossier good quality.

Some substances have more than one REACH dossier, when you will need to choose which dossier to view.

Choosing which REACH dossier to view. (Click on image to enlarge it).

Once you have brought up the REACH dossier for your specific substance, the first page shows a navigation bar and viewing pane:

First page of REACH dossier. (Click on image to enlarge it).

For more information on the nav bar, see Navigating round a REACH dossier.

You then need to access the classification page in the dossier, by clicking on the second box down in the nav bar (Classification & Labelling & PBT assessment), and clicking on “GHS”:

This brings up the GHS classification page, which comprises the classification for each hazard end point, and below that, the labelling information:

You can access the classification information by clicking on the hazard categories to view each hazard “end-point”:

The labelling information can be viewed by scrolling down the page.  Important note – don’t just read the label information for the classification details, as these may have precedence applied (e.g. H410, when it’s H400 plus H411, for example).  You need to check the classification in full.  There are some things to watch out for when reading CLP classifications in the REACH dossier, see: Reading CLP classifications in REACH dossiers.

If you need to check the data used to make each classification, the relevant study summaries can be accessed from the navigation bar on the left hand of the webpage:

• Physical and chemical properties (4th item on nav. bar), contains information found in section 9 of the SDS, giving data for the physical hazards of the substance
• Environmental fate and properties (5th item on nav. bar), gives information found in section 12.2 of the SDS, giving data on the degradability of the substance, useful for aquatic toxicity hazards H400/H410 .
• Ecotoxicological information (6th item on nav. bar), gives information found in rest of section 12 of the SDS, for environmental hazards
• Toxicological information (7th item on nav. bar), contains information found in section 11 of the SDS, for health hazards

Checking when a REACH dossier has been updated

On the first page of the REACH dossier, in the section “Identification”, there is a section which is called Publication Dates, which gives the date the dossier was first published, and the date it was last published.

REACH dossier publication dates (click on image to enlarge it).

You can also check to see when an individual REACH dossier was last updated, under “Registrants/ suppliers of the substance”.  This is now a table showing the company name down the left hand side, and latest dossier received across the top, with an orange symbol to show when the dossier for that company was last altered.  If there is a black dot adjacent the supplier name, that means that an update has been received and is being reviewed.

How to tell when a REACH dossier has been updated (click on image to enlarge it).