Evonik has succeeded in registering synthetic amorphous silica with the European Chemicals Agency—and is the first company in the market to do so

In compliance with the new EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) chemicals regulation, Evonik Industries has successfully registered synthetic amorphous silica with the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki. This authorizes the company, now and in the future, to produce, import, and market its own brands of precipitated (ULTRASIL®, SIPERNAT®, etc.) and fumed (AEROSIL®) silicas. Evonik is thus the first producer to have successfully registered synthetic amorphous silica. The substances were registered by order of the respective REACH consortia in the form of a joint submission. As the lead registrant, Evonik has blazed a trail for other organized chemical companies to have these substances registered.

According to the REACH chemicals regulation, which came into force in June 2007, existing substances-substances already listed in the inventory under the old chemicals legislation-had to be preregistered by December 1, 2008, as a first step (so as to achieve "phase-in" status). This was accomplished on schedule for all the products of the Inorganic Materials Business Unit. Following this preregistration, the important substance synthetic amorphous silica is now the first of the more than one hundred of the business unit's substances to be registered. The registration phase for substances handled in quantities of more than 1,000 metric tons per year ends in November 2010.

Evonik initiated Group-wide measures early on for the proper implementation of REACH. These involved implementation of internal project management, training in the areas of procurement and marketing, data collection, and IT solutions, as well as letters to customers and workshops for customers and suppliers to familiarize them with the new chemicals regulation. Evonik has preregistered about 4,000 substances.