Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals. REACH Regulation places responsibility on industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. Manufacturers and importers are required to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances, which allow their safe handling, and to register the information in a central database in the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki.

The Agency is the central point in the REACH system: it manages the databases necessary to operate the system, co-ordinates the in-depth evaluation of suspicious chemicals and is building up a public database in which consumers and professionals can find hazard information.

The Regulation also calls for the progressive substitution of the most dangerous chemicals (referred to as "substances of very high concern") when suitable alternatives have been identified.

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_en.htm