Description of uses

Since 2009, A.I.S.E. has been gathering information within its membership to identify all uses of a substance in products to ensure that REACH risk assessment is appropriate and accurate. 

During the last years a lot of work has been done also in the context of the CSR/ES Roadmap to harmonize the use description based on the ECHA use descriptor system (updated in Dec 2015) and, where possible, on ESCom standard phrases. In the last years many tools have been made available or updated to prepare for the 2018 REACH Registration deadline, including the ESCom Package 2.0 and a harmonized Improved Use Maps template. 

All these developments have been taken into account, together with the feedback from those using our old tables of uses, and have triggered a substantial update of A.I.S.E. use mapping table.

The previous tables will remain available on the website for reference and tracking of information, but we encourage all those preparing new registration dossiers or updating existing ones to take into account the new information provided beneath.   

Inform your suppliers of the information developed to support their Chemical Safety Assessment using this letter prepared by A.I.S.E. on behalf of its members. (A.I.S.E. Letter) 

Improved Use maps 

The improved A.I.S.E. use maps have been built on the template discussed and agreed in the context of the CSR/ES Roadmap. Extensive guidance on the template can be found on the dedicated ECHA use maps web page. To harmonize the cross-sectors approach to use description, beyond a common template, a common description system has been adopted, namely the ECHA R12 use descriptor system, together with the ESCom catalogue of standard phrases.

Like the older tables of uses, they cover the vast majority (> 80 %) of the products’ uses identified by A.I.S.E. members, both large and small companies. However, following the questions and the comments received over the years, the team preparing the improved use maps tried to simplify as much as possible the descriptions and the grouping of the different activities. This simplification aims at ensuring that these use maps can cover effectively a wide range of applications, regardless of the size of the company and of the specificity of the market – and, therefore, products’ use - in the different EU countries. 

Registrants are encouraged to consider them as representative for the sector when they prepare their registration dossiers. Also, for the same activity, e.g. spraying of a product, the use maps could list the different combinations of Risk Management Measures and Operational Conditions that can occur on the market depending on several factors, e.g. CLP classification of the product (see SWEDs section for more details). To make an efficient use of such information, registrants are encouraged to base their risk assessment on the less stringent conditions, e.g. in the absence of RMMs if it occurs. If safe use can be demonstrated under these conditions, also more stringent conditions of use are considered covered. Differently, if safe use cannot be demonstrated, other stricter scenarios should be considered and communicated to the DUs accordingly via the ESs.  

Downloads


Update now available
  • Download here the Improved Use Maps V1.3 in excel format
  • Download here the related Chesar file
  • All the changes are tracked in the ‘History of changes’ documents 
In case you have already carried out an assessment using the A.I.S.E. old SPERCs, please download here this SPERCs cleaning package to be imported in Chesar Box in addition to the full use maps package. This step will ensure that your Chesar database will be updated and the existing SPERCs are migrated to their latest version.

Tables of uses - Replaced by Improved Use Maps in March 2022

  • Download here the Improved Use Maps V1.1 in excel format
  • Download here the related Chesar file
  • Improved Use maps – Excel Format (October 2016) – V1 – Replaced by V1.1

Tables of uses - Replaced by Improved Use Maps on October 2016

 
These tables of uses, which follow the standard use reporting format agreed under DUCC, cover the vast majority (>80 %) of the uses by A.I.S.E. members, both large and small companies. Registrants are encouraged to consider them as representative for the sector when they prepare for use communication to their customers and for exposure scenario development.

All process categories, product categories, environmental release categories and conditions of uses which are relevant for each use for the cleaning and maintenance products sector are covered in detail*.

Downloads

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