Use communication summary

One of the new aspects that the REACH Regulation introduced is the sharing of Use information between Manufacturers/Importers and Downstream Users.  The intent of this process is to ensure that, supported Uses and safe use advice for all products are included in REACH registration dossier and the REACH formatted Safety Data Sheets. All ExxonMobil products considered as hazardous in accordance with CLP (Classification, Labelling and Packaging EU 1272/2008) and /or defined as PBT (Persistent, Bioaccumalative and Toxic) or vPvB (very Persistent, very Bioaccumalative), has information about supported uses and safe use advice in the Safety Data Sheet available on internet.

To help facilitate the sharing of Use information, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has developed a range of REACH Use Descriptors.  These Use Descriptors are designed to describe how products are used in the supply chain.  More information on Use Descriptors can be found on the website of the ECHA Guidance on REACH.

In Industrial Use, workers might be expected to have a high standard of competence, qualifications and skills and there is a high standard of supervision and control as well as a high standard of technical (risk management) measures available. Resulting exposures and emissions can be expected to be predictable and well-managed.

In Professional Use, workers have various/different competences, qualifications and skills and there are lower or varying standard of supervision and control as well as lower standard of technical (risk management) measures. Resulting exposures and emissions will often be higher than those encountered in Industrial settings.

In Consumer Use, there is little expertise/fewer skills for implementing measures and no technical measures and no individual protection (except for gloves or protective glasses in certain cases). The control of exposures and emissions cannot therefore be expected to rely on strategies which demand trained users or access to specific equipment.

Several known Uses of products are covered by multiple REACH Use Descriptors. To facilitate common understanding, Industry associations have clustered these Use Descriptors and assigned Generic Use Titles to the resultant clusters. Each of these Industry associations has then mapped these generic titles to specific manufacturing processes and Uses applicable to their industry.

The terminology referenced in these Generic Use Titles use phrases which may be more meaningful to you as a Downstream User and should help you to recognize your application. To aid this recognition you’ll find a short description and the associated REACH Use descriptors codes behind each title.