New generation of IT tools coming soon

ECHA/NA/16/15

New versions of IUCLID, used for creating REACH and CLP dossiers, and Chesar, used for preparing chemical safety reports, will be published in the last week of April. They will be followed by an update of the dossier submission and communication tool, REACH-IT, at the end of June.

Helsinki, 13 April 2016 – The new tools will be simpler to use and more intuitive, which will particularly help small and medium-sized companies registering their chemicals for the last REACH registration deadline of 31 May 2018. They will also offer more possibilities for registrants to more transparently document their registration.

The completeness check will be adapted to the IUCLID 6 format and changes in the REACH information requirements e.g. for reproductive toxicity. Following the launch of the new REACH-IT, the automated completeness check will be complemented by a manual verification by ECHA of those elements that cannot be checked automatically. More information about the criteria for manual verification will be available after the launch of IUCLID 6.

The new REACH-IT will strengthen ECHA's capability to make sure that dossiers cannot be submitted separately if a registration for the same substance already exists (‘one substance, one registration' principle). It will, for example, introduce an automated system, which verifies that there are no duplicate joint submissions for the same substance and registration type. In addition, substance identity profiles will be introduced. They describe the scope of the joint registration and will be mandatory for lead registrants.

Once the new REACH-IT is launched, only dossiers created with IUCLID 6 can be submitted. Until then, registrants must continue using IUCLID 5 for submissions. However, they are advised to use the time between the two IT tool launches to start preparing for the switch to IUCLID 6.

The new Chesar will be made available together with IUCLID 6. It will be adapted to the IUCLID 6 format and will exchange data with IUCLID more effectively than before. It will also support the assessment of complex cases, such as multi-constituents or UVCBs.

Help available

The user support will be integrated into the tools. For REACH-IT, it will be gradually available in 23 EU languages. The IUCLID manuals will be simplified and remain available in 23 EU languages on ECHA's website. The IUCLID plug-ins, including the Validation Assistant, will be updated so that registrants can check their dossiers before submitting them to ECHA. Trainings on the tools will be organised in the coming months. These include webinars offering practical advice on the transition from IUCLID 5 to IUCLID 6 and on the use of Chesar.

Update 27 April 2016: The update of Chesar will unfortunately not be released as initially planned on 29 April. Further testing is needed to ensure stability and compatibility of the tool with the new version of IUCLID. ECHA apologises for any inconvenience.

Update 19 May: New version of Chesar will be available on 21 June 2016.

Infographic: Timing of the new versions of IUCLID, Chesar and REACH-IT and main changes.