The aim is to develop a standardised format for communicating information from downstream user sectors to registrants in order to enhance the chemical safety assessment and subsequent downstream communication. Use maps consolidate information on the use and conditions of use (for worker, consumer and environmental exposure), and am to be compatible with exposure assessment IT tools.

Status: Completed

Template and supporting guidance for the improved use maps were published in March 2016 to support downstream user sectors to develope the content for the use maps.

• Use maps

Contact Person(s)

• Laure-Anne Carton de Tournai, Directorate D – Risk Management, ECHA
  Email: laure-anne.cartondetournai(at)echa.europa.eu

[Last update: May 2016]

The aim is to collect the experience so far and analyse

• how registrants have described the identified uses of their substances and
• identify the information on uses that authorities need.

This action should lead to proposals for improving the current approaches to use description including considerations on whether and how to revise the existing use descriptor system.

Status: completed

This action has contributed to the development of improved use maps (action 2.0), the update of ECHA's Guidance on Use description (R.12) and to the update of the IUCLID section 3.5 for describing identified uses. See also action 2.7.

Contact Person(s)

• Laure-Anne Carton de Tournai, Directorate D – Risk Management, ECHA
  Email: laure-anne.cartondetournai(at)echa.europa.eu

[Last update: November 2016]

A series of illustrative good practice examples on description of uses will be produced and discussed to align understanding among stakeholders.

Status: Ongoing

Work will be carried out as a follow-up of the update of R.12 Guidance on use description as well as examples of use maps.

Contact Person(s)

• Erwin Annys, Cefic 
  Email: ean(at)cefic.be

[Last update: August 2015]

The aim of this action is to develop a standardised format for collecting information on conditions of use from the occupational perspective. Downstream user sectors are expected to develop the content for the typical uses of their sector and make this available to registrants. This will make the chemical safety assessment by registrants more relevant and improve the subsequent downstream communication.

Status: Completed

Preliminary agreement on the concept and the corresponding sector-specific workers exposure description (SWED) format was reached at ENES8 in May 2015. An agreed harmonised template was published in March 2016. SWEDs development is integrated with the improved use maps development (see Action 2.0).

• Use maps

Contact Person(s)

• Jan Urbanus, Concawe
  Email: jan.urbanus(at)shell.com
• Andreas Ahrens, Directorate C – Registration, ECHA
  Email: andreas.ahrens(at)echa.europa.eu

[Last update: May 2016]

Identification of existing risk management information specific for sectors, processes or products in order to explore how to use it for the development of exposure scenarios.

Status: completed

The results of the project were discussed at ENES9 and the report is available from BAuA.

Contact Person(s)

• Eva Lechtenberg-Auffarth, BAuA, email: lechtenberg.eva (at) baua.bund.de

[Last update: November 2016]

The second generation of specific environmental release categories (SpERCs) will be reviewed in order to identify further development needs both for the format and content.

Status: Ongoing

Based on the outcome of the ECHA "Assessment of reliability of SPERCs" the SPERC format has been adapted and is now published. Some sectors have started to update the content of their SPERCs. SPERCs development is integrated with the improved use maps development (see Action 2.0).

Contact Person(s)

• Johannes Tolls, DUCC
  E-mail: johannes.tolls (at) henkel.com
• Andreas Ahrens, Directorate C - Registration, ECHA
  E-mail: andreas.ahrens(at)echa.europa.eu

[Last update: December 2016]

Specific Consumer Exposure Determinants (SCEDs) are intended as a tool to facilitate transparent and realistic exposure estimates for substances in consumer products. SCEDs contain the information on conditions of use: habits and practices of consumers and assumptions on the product design. At present SCEDs are designed to be used in connection with the ECETOC TRA version 3.1.

Status: Ongoing

SCED template and guidance were published in April 2014. Sectors have started publishing their SCEDs, and are interested to receive feedback from authorities. SCEDs development is integrated with the improved use maps development (see Action 2.0).

• Use maps

Contact Person(s)

• Laura Portugal, DUCC 
  Email: laura.portugal(at)aise.eu

[Last update: May 2016]

Compilation of methods available to support registrants to break down the substance volumes supplied into different uses. Tonnage per use information supports i) environmental assessment under REACH and ii) informing authorities on the extent of certain uses to demonstrate that a substance is not of priority concern for REACH regulatory processes. Such methods, with their advantages and draw-backs, will be described and published.

Status: Ongoing

An industry working group was established in summer 2014, and a workshop to discuss their findings took place in the end of 2015. Report available from Cefic.

Contact Person(s)

• Petra Weber, Cefic/VCI
  Email: petra.weber(at)clariant.com
• Angelika Hanschmidt, VCI
  Email: hanschmidt(at)vci.de

[Last update: August 2015]

The outcome of the previous actions will lead to the definition of good practice for generating information inputs to the registrants' CSA. These practices are fed into the updated ECHA Guidance on Information Requirements and Chemical Safety Assessment (Part D, R.12, R.14-R.16) and ECHA's tools (IUCLID/Chesar).

Status: See other actions in area 2

This work is carried out under the umbrella of the improved use maps (see action 2.0).

Contact Person(s)

• Laure-Anne Carton de Tournai, Directorate D – Risk Management, ECHA
  Email: laure-anne.cartondetournai(at)echa.europa.eu

[Last update: August 2015]