REACH tonnage band calculator
Use this free web calculator to estimate your 3-year rolling averages for any substance which is REACH liable.
Important note: the 3-year rolling average period ends on 31st December 2017. After this time, REACH liability for both unregistered and registered substances changes to the actual annual tonnage. The calculator can only be used retrospectively after this time, that is to show 3-year rolling averages up until the end of 2017.
This calculator may be useful for importers into the EU, or manufacturers within the EU, to help you keep your substance tonnages below the REACH threshold of 1 tonne per annum.
In the UK, the calculator can also be used for existing registered substances, to see whether your REACH-registered substances breach their current tonnage band thresholds and require a higher level registration. This is because the UK Competent Authority expect you to update your registration on the basis of the 3 year rolling average, but other EU countries may expect your registration to be updated if you exceed the threshold in a single year. If in doubt, check with your local Competent Authority. UK information correct at time of checking, January 2016.
If you need a more sophisticated product to track your REACH-liable inventory, which can run the calculations on a rolling month-by-month basis, track substances inside mixtures, and record the results in an audit trail, why not check out ProductTraq from our friends at Baytouch (We don’t get paid for recommending this product).
If you are importing a substance just over the 1 tonne per annum limit, and would like to keep out of REACH for that substance, it is perfectly legal to have another company import material and then sell it to you, and as long as both companies import less than 1 tonne per annum, there is no REACH liability. (This interpretation of the law has been confirmed by the HSE in the UK, and if you are in another country we recommend you check this with your own Competent Authority). One of our friends, who is an importer in this situation, has set up a free to use, not-for-profit “matchmaking” service to put importers in touch with each other at https://www.reachout.direct/ .
How to use the calculator
Next to the year, simply type in the tonnage made or imported in that year. For years where the substance was not made or imported, type in zero. The graph containing the annual tonnages and the 3-year rolling average will be produced automatically. (Please note the calculator may not work on some mobile phones).
The REACH tonnage band limits are:1 – 10 tonnes per annum, Annex VII substance (1 tonne threshold)
10 – 100 tonnes per annum, Annex VIII substance (10 tonnes threshold)
100 – 1,000 tonnes per annum, Annex IX substance (100 tonnes threshold)
> 1,000 tonnes per annum, Annex X substance (1,000 tonnes threshold)
Disclaimer: this tonnage band calculator will only work if you input exact tonnages, including data for 2 years prior to the year in question. Don’t forget that you may need to look forwards as well, as a high inventory one year will limit the amount you can manufacture or import for the two succeeding years. No liability can be accepted for using the information in this calculator for regulatory purposes.
FAQS:
- The calculator only works for a single substance at any one time, although you can clear the data and re-input for a different substance
- You need to fill in at least 3 years of data for the calculator to work.
- To print your results, use the button in the calculator, don’t print the web page itself.
For REACH registration purposes, water is usually “invisible”:
i. Do not include water in a diluted product. e.g. if importing 2 tonnes of a 30% w/w solution, the quantity imported is 2 x 0.3 = 0.6 tonnes per annum.
ii. Do not include any water of crystallisation when calculating the mass of solid substance. g. if making 1 tonne per annum of copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate by reaction, the actual mass of copper (II) sulphate is considered to be the anhydrous mass. For REACH purposes, you would be classed as making 639.24 kgs per annum. Note – this interpretation applies in the UK, but may be different in other countries, and you should check with your Competent Authority.
iii. The only time water should be included in tonnage band calculations is if it is listed as an impurity or additive in the REACH registration dossier (check with the Lead Registrant).- If you have been manufacturing or importing the substance prior to the year you are interested in, fill in the previous two year’s data, otherwise the average will be incorrect.
- To clear the tonnage values, click the “cancel” button at the bottom of the page, near the “print” button.
- If you need to use a different date range, the years can be over-written.
- You can print the results using the “print” button at the bottom of the calculator, we recommend you add the substance name by hand on any print-out if you have several you want to track.
- You can use the calculator to predict what tonnages you can manufacture or import in the future, based on the previous 2 years’ activities.
- If the calculator doesn’t work properly on your mobile phone:
Download the Android AppDownload the iPhone and Windows app or scan the QR code;
For more help, email us.