The EU REACH Boron Consortium was established in late 2010 as an initiative of the European steel industry for which boron is an important alloying element.
Benefits of membership of the Boron Consortium
The REACH Boron Consortium – on behalf of the Lead Registrant – has prepared the Registration Dossier for boron, as well as the Chemical Safety Report, to which each registrant refers when submitting its own dossier.
Membership of the REACH Boron Consortium offers many benefits, including:
- shared technical knowledge and resources
- a fully transparent planning, budgeting and implementation structure
- cost sharing on a pro-rata basis
- the economy of scale resulting from dealing with related substances together
- a collaborative and coordinated approach to ECHA and other regulatory authorities
- preparation of data that can be used for future global regulatory needs
- technical and administrative support
Download Consortium Agreement
Substances covered
Reference name | Formula | EINECS Number | CAS Number |
---|---|---|---|
Boron | B | 231-151-2 | 7440-42-8 |
Phosphorus | P | 231-768-7 | 7723-14-0 / 12185-10-3 |
Reaction mass of diiron carbide, diiron phosphide and triiron phosphide | n/a (multi-constituent substance) | 701-438-1 | n/a |
Note 1: The REACH Boron Consortium’s phosphorus dossier covers only white/yellow phosphorus and not red phosphorus, even though both forms of phosphorus share the same EINECS and CAS numbers.
Note 2: The REACH Boron Consortium covers only the use of phosphorus as a component of an alloy or special mixture. The use of phosphorus as an intermediate in the chemical industry is covered by the P4 Consortium.
Members
- AMG Superalloys UK Limited [B]
- ArcelorMittal Sourcing [B and P]
- Asturiana de Aleaciones SA [B]
- Cometal, SA [P]
- CRONIMET RAW Materials GmbH [B]
- GfE MIR GmbH [B and P]
- H.C. Starck Surface Technology and Ceramic Powders GmbH [B]
- Höganäs Sweden AB [P]
- Meca-Trade Oy [B and P]
- PCC Rokita SA [P]
- Roba Holding BV [B and P]
- Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH [B and P]
Structure
- ASSEMBLY – the ultimate governing body of the consortium and comprises representatives of all Members. The Assembly meets as needed and is responsible for high level decisions as defined in Article 6.1 of the consortium agreement.
- STEERING COMMITTEE – came into existence when consortium membership reached 10 and is responsible for the organisation and oversight of the management of the consortium. The composition, responsibilities and organisation of the Steering Committee are defined in Article 6.2 of the consortium agreement.
- TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP – responsible for the technical aspects of the work of the consortium, including definition of the list of substances covered, evaluation of existing studies and data, preparation of the technical dossiers, preparation of chemical safety reports, etc. and comprises suitably qualified representatives of the membership and observers. The Technical Working Group can establish sub-committees, for example to deal with issues relating to specific substances. The role of the Technical Working Group is defined in Article 6.3 of the consortium agreement.
- SECRETARIAT – responsible the day-to-day management and external relations of the consortium, in accordance with Article 6.4 of the consortium agreement, reporting to the Steering Committee. The Secretariat is provided by Boron Consortium Services Ltd., a not for profit company established in England to conduct the business of the consortium.
- TRUSTEE – an independent third party appointed by the Steering Committee whose principal function is to handle or process confidential business information.

Costs
The funding principle of the Boron Consortium [see Appendix 4 of the Consortium Agreement] is that costs are shared pro-rata between Members in accordance with the annual tonnage of boron contained in their substance[s].
Funds can be raised in two ways:
- An initial contribution of €40,000 for those members whose annual B volume is ≥ 100 tonnes and €25,000 for those members whose annual B volume is < 100 tonnes.
- Annual contributions based on the budget for the year in question.
At the end of the project costs and contributions, taking into account Letter of Access fees received, will be reconciled in accordance with Appendix 4 of the Consortium Agreement.