| Dokumendiregister | Sotsiaalministeerium |
| Viit | 1.4-2/2588-1 |
| Registreeritud | 15.10.2025 |
| Sünkroonitud | 16.10.2025 |
| Liik | Sissetulev kiri |
| Funktsioon | 1.4 EL otsustusprotsess ja rahvusvaheline koostöö |
| Sari | 1.4-2 Rahvusvahelise koostöö korraldamisega seotud kirjavahetus (Arhiiviväärtuslik) |
| Toimik | 1.4-2/2025 |
| Juurdepääsupiirang | Avalik |
| Juurdepääsupiirang | |
| Adressaat | EV alaline esindus EL juures |
| Saabumis/saatmisviis | EV alaline esindus EL juures |
| Vastutaja | Aive Telling (Sotsiaalministeerium, Kantsleri vastutusvaldkond, Terviseala asekantsleri vastutusvaldkond, Rahvatervishoiu osakond) |
| Originaal | Ava uues aknas |
1 (3)
D(2025)0862
Helsinki, 13 October 2025 RS/MO/mm
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Permanent Representations
of the EU Member States and EEA-EFTA Countries
Sent by email only
Subject: Member States’ and EEA-EFTA countries’ nominations to ECHA Committees RAC and SEAC - Renewal and new membership
Dear Sir/Madam,
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is launching the process for (re)nominating
candidates for membership of the Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-
Economic Analysis (SEAC).1
We would like to draw your attention to the importance of prompt nomination of committees’ members. The ex-post evaluation of ECHA’s Committees, conducted in 2023,
found that RAC and SEAC are working at their capacity limits and that there is a significant untapped potential for Member States to nominate more members to these committees.
You are kindly invited to submit your nominations and supporting documents no later
than Monday 27 October 2025 to [email protected].
Please note that nominations must come through the Permanent Representation/Mission
to the EU. This is to be done preferably by forwarding to ECHA, via email, the nomination form (Annex 3) signed by the Member State Competent Authority (MSCA). Supporting
documents can be provided directly to ECHA by the nominee or MSCA.
According to the REACH Regulation each country can nominate up to two RAC and SEAC members. However, some Member States have nominated only one committee member,
and some Member States have nominated none. Because of this, RAC is at about 80% of
full capacity and SEAC at just over 50%. In addition, new expertise is needed to carry out new tasks (Drinking water, Batteries, etc.).
Prior to submitting the (re-)nomination documents, the nominating authority is strongly
recommended to liaise with the Chairs of RAC and SEAC, respectively, to discuss suitable profiles for candidates being nominated for the first time and to discuss the performance
of candidates (current members) proposed for re-nomination:
• Roberto SCAZZOLA Chair of RAC: [email protected]
• Maria OTTATI Chair of SEAC: [email protected]
A phone interview with the respective Chair will be organized for all new candidates; nominations will only be forwarded for consideration by the Management Board of the
Agency once this has successfully been completed and the Chairs have reviewed the qualifications and availability of the nominees.
1 REACH Regulation, Articles 85(1) and (2).
2 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
1. Practicalities
The names of the current members whose term of office is about to end are listed in Annex 1 and the full list of vacancies is contained in Annex 2.
To support Member States in selecting the most appropriate candidates, we attach
background documents (Annexes 4 and 5) that describe the two Committees of ECHA with respect to their tasks, role of members and ways of operation. The background documents
also specify the current needs of the Committees in terms of scientific expertise.
Members are expected to provide at least 50% of their time to the work of the Committees
and the nominating authority, on behalf of the member’s employer, guarantees this by signing Annex 3 of the nomination papers. All members of RAC and SEAC are required to
take on the crucial role of rapporteur and draft the scientific opinion of the Committee on specific cases. Commenting on draft opinions circulated for Committee consultation is also
an important ongoing task.
Supporting documents for nomination of new candidates
• Expertise grid (Annexes 4-5)
• Declaration of Interest (Annex 6) • Europass CV (Annex 7)
Supporting documents for renewal of current membership
• Annexes 4-7. Note that the RAC Expertise grid was updated to take account of specific expertise needed for new RAC processes. Please submit updated grids for
all renewals.
2. Independence of members
The appointing authority is invited to read the ECHA policy on Prevention and Management
of potential Conflicts of Interest and in particular its Annex 2 on the Eligibility criteria for candidates for membership in the ECHA bodies and for key positions in the ECHA
Secretariat.
3. Publication of personal data2
ECHA will process any personal data received in accordance with ECHA’s privacy rules. Please note that the list of nominees, the membership of the Committees, professional
qualifications and Declaration of Interests of the members shall be made public on the
Agency’s website.
If you have any questions, please contact the Committees Secretariat at: committees- [email protected].
Yours faithfully,
(e-signed)3
Peter van der Zandt
Director of Risk Management
2 Article 88(1) and 85 of REACH
3 As this is an electronic document, it is not physically signed. This communication has been approved
according to ECHA’s internal decision approval process.
3 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Cc: REACH Competent Authorities of the Member States Secretariat of the ECHA Management Board
Members of ECHA Committees listed in Annex 1
Encls. Annex 1 Members of the Committees whose term of office is expiring
Annex 2 List of vacant positions on the two Committees
Annex 3 Nomination form
Annex 4 Background paper on RAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 5 Background paper on SEAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 6 ECHA Declaration of Interest
Annex 7 Europass CV template
From: ECHA Committees secretariat <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:04:04 +0000
To: ECHA Committees secretariat <[email protected]>
Subject: Membership in ECHA Committees RAC and SEAC - Nominations by 27 October 2025
Importance: High
Dear Sir/Madam,
With this e-mail, you are invited to (re-)nominate your Member State’s representative/s in the European Chemicals Agency’s Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC). The attached letter and annexes explain the nomination process, documentation required, and background information on the type of expertise sought for the RAC and SEAC members.
On behalf of ECHA, we would like to express our encouragement to the Member State Competent Authorities to continue to support the work of the members of these bodies, which have a continuously increasing workload.
Yours faithfully,
Roberto Scazzola / Chair of RAC
Maria Ottati / Chair of SEAC
|
Committees secretariat |
|
|
|
|
EMAS Registered ISO 9001:2015 certified ISO 14001:2015 certified |
|
|
|
||
1 (3)
D(2025)0862
Helsinki, 13 October 2025 RS/MO/mm
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Permanent Representations
of the EU Member States and EEA-EFTA Countries
Sent by email only
Subject: Member States’ and EEA-EFTA countries’ nominations to ECHA Committees RAC and SEAC - Renewal and new membership
Dear Sir/Madam,
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is launching the process for (re)nominating
candidates for membership of the Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-
Economic Analysis (SEAC).1
We would like to draw your attention to the importance of prompt nomination of committees’ members. The ex-post evaluation of ECHA’s Committees, conducted in 2023,
found that RAC and SEAC are working at their capacity limits and that there is a significant untapped potential for Member States to nominate more members to these committees.
You are kindly invited to submit your nominations and supporting documents no later
than Monday 27 October 2025 to [email protected].
Please note that nominations must come through the Permanent Representation/Mission
to the EU. This is to be done preferably by forwarding to ECHA, via email, the nomination form (Annex 3) signed by the Member State Competent Authority (MSCA). Supporting
documents can be provided directly to ECHA by the nominee or MSCA.
According to the REACH Regulation each country can nominate up to two RAC and SEAC members. However, some Member States have nominated only one committee member,
and some Member States have nominated none. Because of this, RAC is at about 80% of
full capacity and SEAC at just over 50%. In addition, new expertise is needed to carry out new tasks (Drinking water, Batteries, etc.).
Prior to submitting the (re-)nomination documents, the nominating authority is strongly
recommended to liaise with the Chairs of RAC and SEAC, respectively, to discuss suitable profiles for candidates being nominated for the first time and to discuss the performance
of candidates (current members) proposed for re-nomination:
• Roberto SCAZZOLA Chair of RAC: [email protected]
• Maria OTTATI Chair of SEAC: [email protected]
A phone interview with the respective Chair will be organized for all new candidates; nominations will only be forwarded for consideration by the Management Board of the
Agency once this has successfully been completed and the Chairs have reviewed the qualifications and availability of the nominees.
1 REACH Regulation, Articles 85(1) and (2).
2 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
1. Practicalities
The names of the current members whose term of office is about to end are listed in Annex 1 and the full list of vacancies is contained in Annex 2.
To support Member States in selecting the most appropriate candidates, we attach
background documents (Annexes 4 and 5) that describe the two Committees of ECHA with respect to their tasks, role of members and ways of operation. The background documents
also specify the current needs of the Committees in terms of scientific expertise.
Members are expected to provide at least 50% of their time to the work of the Committees
and the nominating authority, on behalf of the member’s employer, guarantees this by signing Annex 3 of the nomination papers. All members of RAC and SEAC are required to
take on the crucial role of rapporteur and draft the scientific opinion of the Committee on specific cases. Commenting on draft opinions circulated for Committee consultation is also
an important ongoing task.
Supporting documents for nomination of new candidates
• Expertise grid (Annexes 4-5)
• Declaration of Interest (Annex 6) • Europass CV (Annex 7)
Supporting documents for renewal of current membership
• Annexes 4-7. Note that the RAC Expertise grid was updated to take account of specific expertise needed for new RAC processes. Please submit updated grids for
all renewals.
2. Independence of members
The appointing authority is invited to read the ECHA policy on Prevention and Management
of potential Conflicts of Interest and in particular its Annex 2 on the Eligibility criteria for candidates for membership in the ECHA bodies and for key positions in the ECHA
Secretariat.
3. Publication of personal data2
ECHA will process any personal data received in accordance with ECHA’s privacy rules. Please note that the list of nominees, the membership of the Committees, professional
qualifications and Declaration of Interests of the members shall be made public on the
Agency’s website.
If you have any questions, please contact the Committees Secretariat at: committees- [email protected].
Yours faithfully,
(e-signed)3
Peter van der Zandt
Director of Risk Management
2 Article 88(1) and 85 of REACH
3 As this is an electronic document, it is not physically signed. This communication has been approved
according to ECHA’s internal decision approval process.
3 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Cc: REACH Competent Authorities of the Member States Secretariat of the ECHA Management Board
Members of ECHA Committees listed in Annex 1
Encls. Annex 1 Members of the Committees whose term of office is expiring
Annex 2 List of vacant positions on the two Committees
Annex 3 Nomination form
Annex 4 Background paper on RAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 5 Background paper on SEAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 6 ECHA Declaration of Interest
Annex 7 Europass CV template
ANNEX 1 1 (1)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | Fax +358 9 68618210 | echa.europa.eu
ANNEX 1 - Current Members of the Committees whose term of office will end by 30 June 2026
Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC)
Country Member Organisation End of
Term
CY Christodoulou
Sotirios
University of Cyprus 29/03/2026
FI Santonen Tiina Finnish Institute of Occupational Health 16/06/2026
DE Schlüter Urs Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Federal office for Chemicals
29/03/2026
GR Tsitsimpikou
Christina
General Directorate of the General
Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
GR Spetseris Nikolaos General Directorate of the General Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
IT Aquilina Gabriele National Institute of Health 21/06/2026
LT Manusadžianas
Levonas
Nature Research Centre 20/06/2026
LU Neumann Michael German Environment Agency 16/06/2026
NL Hakkert Betty National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
20/06/2026
PL Barański Bogusław Bureau for Chemical Substances 18/06/2026
RO Docea Anca University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Craiova
06/04/2026
Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC)
Country Member Organisation End of Term
DE Thiele Karen German Environment Agency 15/12/2025
1(1)
Country Committee Current number of
members Number of vacancies
Austria RAC 2 0
Austria SEAC 1 1
Belgium RAC 2 0
Belgium SEAC 1 1
Bulgaria RAC 2 0
Bulgaria SEAC 1 1
Croatia RAC 2 0 Croatia SEAC 0 2
Cyprus RAC 2 0
Cyprus SEAC 2 0
Czechia RAC 2 0
Czechia SEAC 1 1
Denmark RAC 2 0
Denmark SEAC 1 1
Estonia RAC 1 1
Estonia SEAC 1 1
Finland RAC 2 0
Finland SEAC 1 1
France RAC 2 0
France SEAC 2 0
Germany RAC 2 0
Germany SEAC 2 0
Greece RAC 2 0
Greece SEAC 1 1
Hungary RAC 2 0
Hungary SEAC 0 2
Iceland RAC 0 2
Iceland SEAC 0 2
Ireland RAC 1 1
Ireland* SEAC 1 1
Italy RAC 2 0
Italy SEAC 2 0 Latvia RAC 2 0
Latvia SEAC 1 1 Liechtenstein RAC 0 2
Liechtenstein SEAC 0 2
Lithuania RAC 2 0
Lithuania SEAC 2 0
Luxembourg RAC 2 0
Luxembourg SEAC 1 1
Malta RAC 0 2
Malta SEAC 0 2
Netherlands RAC 2 0
Netherlands SEAC 2 0
Norway RAC 2 0
Norway SEAC 1 1
Poland RAC 2 0
Poland SEAC 0 2
Portugal RAC 1 1
Portugal SEAC 1 1
Romania RAC 2 0
Romania SEAC 0 2
Slovakia RAC 1 1
Slovakia SEAC 0 2
Slovenia RAC 2 0
Slovenia SEAC 2 0
Spain RAC 2 0
Spain SEAC 2 0
Sweden RAC 2 0
Sweden SEAC 1 1
* Nomination for current vacancy in progress
Annex 2 - List of vacant positions on the two Committees
from 1 October 2025
Annex 4
1(4)
Helsinki, 21 October 2024
BACKGROUND PAPER
Committee for Risk Assessment
1 Introduction
The Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is
responsible for providing opinions to the European Commission on:
- Restrictions and Applications for Authorisation under the REACH1 regulation ;
- Harmonised classifications under Classification, Labelling and Packaging CLP2;
- Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) under the CMRD/CAD worker protection
legislation3
- Drinking Water Directive – European Positive List (from 2026);
- Regulation on batteries and waste batteries (from 2025)
All of these processes require an in-depth scientific knowledge and expertise from the
Committee’s members in a variety of specific disciplines.
This document has been developed to support the Member States (MSs) in nominating,
the best candidates to RAC. It provides details on the tasks and expected workload of the
members and the level of support required from their nominating members state. Finally,
the paper concludes with an overview of the fields of expertise needed by the members of
RAC.
2 Composition, role and tasks of the Committee for Risk Assessment
RAC is chaired by Mr Roberto Scazzola who is an ECHA staff member and is supported by
a committee secretariat provided by ECHA.
RAC is composed of members nominated by the EU Member States and EEA-EFTA countries
but appointed by the Management Board of ECHA in their personal capacity as scientists.
It has a nominal capacity of 60 members, two each from the 27 EU and the 3 EEA-EFTA
countries. At the moment there are 46 members, thus 14 regular places are free.
In addition, RAC can co-opt up to five additional members. At the moment there are five
co-opted members appointed.
1 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, OJ L 396, 30.12.2006 p.1, corrected version in OJ L 136, 29.5.2007, p. 3 2 Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, OJ L 353, 31.12.2008 3 DIRECTIVE 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work
Summary: The Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) is currently looking for specialists
to be nominated in particular in the fields of:
• epidemiology (worker/consumer)
• toxicology and human health risk assessment
• drinking water directive
• batteries and waste batteries
• environmental risk assessment
• biodegradation and ecotoxicology
• occupational hygiene and medicine
Annex 4
2(4)
RAC is a multidisciplinary Committee covering diverse types of processes and it
formulates opinions in relation to the following:
• Applications for Authorisation – Assessing the risk from the use(s) of a
substance to workers and the environment arising from those uses for which
authorisation is being sought. This includes an assessment of the operational
conditions and risk management measures and the related exposures described in
the application (Article 64(4) of the REACH Regulation);
• Restrictions - Evaluating whether the restrictions proposed by a Member State or
ECHA for a substance are appropriate in reducing the risk to human health and/or
the environment;
• Harmonised Classification and Labelling - Evaluating proposals from Member
States or manufacturers, importers or downstream users for harmonised
classification and labelling of a substance under the CLP Regulation.
• Occupational Exposure Limits – RAC is requested by the European Commission
to provide scientific evaluations on occupational exposure limits for carcinogens and
chemical agents at the workplace.
• Drinking water – Assessing applications to add/remove substances to/from the
European positive list
• Batteries - identifying substances of concern found in batteries or used in their
manufacturing and preparing proposals to restrict substances in both batteries and
waste batteries
3 Expectations of expertise for the RAC members
The REACH Regulation makes it clear that members must possess the necessary
qualifications in order to allow the Committees to meet the high expectations placed on
them. RAC members require a knowledge of regulatory science and its use under the
REACH, CLP and OSH Regulations, related to chemicals. To provide independent scientific
advice, the Committee requires expertise from both regulatory scientists and from
academics.
Key areas of expertise required
The key areas of specialised expertise required by the Committee are presented below.
Applications for Authorisations and Occupation Health and safety
• Epidemiology and occupational medicine
• Human health risk assessment in particular carcinogenicity
• Occupational hygiene and workplace exposure assessment
• Risk Management Measures and operational conditions
• Indirect exposure (humans via the environment); emissions to air, water,
soil/sediment
Classification Labelling and Packaging (CLP)
• Regulatory toxicology: carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, toxicity to reproduction
Specific Target Organ Toxicity, Sensitization, acute toxicity
• Ecotoxicology and biodegradation
• Test Guideline development
• Understanding of the CLP criteria
Restrictions
• Human health and environmental health risk assessment
• Technical aspects of restrictions: effectiveness, monitorability, etc
Annex 4
3(4)
• Risk management measures
• PBT, vPvB
Occupational exposure limits
• Occupational medicine
• Epidemiology
• Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity, including Mode of Action
Drinking Water
• Water chemistry
• Materials science
• Migration testing
• Human health risk assessment
Batteries and waste batteries
• Knowledge of different batteries types, including manufacturing processes,
recycling of materials and disposal of waste batteries acquired from work
experience in industry and/or in the sector of battery waste management and/or
in public regulatory bodies with emphasis to chemicals management
• Experience in the regulatory risk management of substances in batteries and
waste batteries under relevant legislation on batteries (e.g. Batteries Directive),
vehicle batteries (e.g. ELV Directive), batteries using equipment (e.g. RoHS
directive) etc.
Support for member’s activities
Member State Competent Authorities are obliged to provide support to enable RAC
members to accomplish their activities in RAC in accordance with Art. 85(6), keeping in
mind the scientific independence of the members as established under Article 85(7) of the
REACH Regulation. To this end, RAC members should be entitled to dedicate a major part
of their working time to RAC activities - at least 50% of their time (See Annex III) -
which requires specific arrangements with the members and their institutions/employers.
This support could include the provision of regular advisers depending on the topic and ad-
hoc specialists plus administrative support.
Rapporteurships
Most of the work of RAC is conducted between meetings and consists of drafting by
Rapporteurs and consultation of the Committee’s opinions with the membership. According
to Article 87(1) of the REACH Regulation, the members of RAC are expected to serve
as (co-) rapporteurs for preparing the opinions of the Committee. Each member is
expected to act as a rapporteurs or co-rapporteur for several dossiers per year during
his/her 3-year membership depending on the scale of individual dossiers, this may be lower
or higher. It should be noted that the scale and scope of dossiers can vary considerably.
Written commenting rounds on opinions
All RAC members are expected to provide their comments and views on the different draft
proposals during written consultations and should be fully involved in the opinion-making
process.
Reimbursement
ECHA reimburses the travel and accommodation expenses and pays subsistence allowance
to the members and, where relevant, remunerates the rapporteur and co-rapporteur for
the work undertaken in line with the rules adopted by the Management Board
(MB/41/2020). As no remuneration is considered for the rapporteurs of CLH dossiers, ECHA
has implemented a mechanism for supporting them and thus contributing to the costs. The
participation of one adviser supporting the CLH rapporteur in RAC meetings where the
Annex 4
4(4)
substance is discussed is reimbursed. Advisers not employed in the public service of the
Member State can also receive an expert remuneration for their contribution to the
meeting.
5 Further considerations
RAC meetings are held four times a year, at present this usually consists of a single week
meetings; the provisional dates are published on the Committee pages of the ECHA website
at least a year in advance.
Please note that RAC has established four working groups for:
- Authorisations,
- Restrictions,
- Classification and Labelling and
- Drinking Water (to prepare for the implementation of the legislation).
These working groups meet between plenary meetings and pre-assess all dossiers ahead
of the next plenary, making recommendatios to RAC. Members and/or their advisors are
expected to be active in the Working Groups of RAC.
Annex 5
1(3)
Helsinki, 21 October 2024
BACKGROUND PAPER
Committee for Socio-economic Analysis
1 Introduction
The Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) of the European Chemicals Agency
(ECHA) plays an important role in the key REACH1 processes concerning restrictions and
authorisations, as well as, from 2024, regulation on batteries and waste batteries.
Furthermore, it delivers opinions on any other aspects that arise from the operation of
REACH relating to the socio-economic impacts of possible legislative action on substances.
This document has been developed to support the Member States (MSs) in the process of
renewal of memberships of SEAC, and/or of nomination of new candidates. It provides
details on the expected workload of the members and the level of support required from
their nominating Member State. Finally, the paper presents an overview of the fields of
expertise to be covered in SEAC.
2 Composition, role and tasks of the Committee for Socio-economic Analysis
SEAC is composed of members appointed by the Management Board based on nominations
made by the Member States and EEA-EFTA countries. At the moment there are 32
members. In addition to members, SEAC can co-opt up to five additional members.
In accordance with Article 77(1) of the Regulation, the task of ECHA is to provide the best
possible scientific and technical advice on questions related to chemicals. The ECHA
Committees (RAC, SEAC and MSC) are an essential part of the smooth functioning of
REACH. The tasks of SEAC are described in REACH in Article 76(1)(d).
SEAC formulates an ECHA opinion in relation to the following:
• Authorisation – Assessing the socio-economic factors related to applications for
authorisation and the availability and technical and economic feasibility of
alternatives.
• Restrictions – Assessing proposed restrictions under REACH and Batteries
Regulation and their socio-economic impact.
1 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).
Summary: The Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) is currently looking for
specialists to be nominated in particular in the fields of:
• economics (welfare, regulatory, public sector, environmental and/or health
economics)
• chemical engineering (substitution of hazardous substances and analysis of
technical feasibility of alternatives)
Annex 5
2(3)
In addition, the Executive Director of ECHA may ask SEAC to draw up an opinion on any
other aspects concerning the safety of substances on their own, in preparations or in
articles (Article 77(3)(b) and (c)).
3 Working procedures
There are fixed, tight deadlines for the delivery of SEAC’s opinions, and consequently the
committee will be under time pressure to deliver its opinions.
Article 87(1) stipulates that the Committee shall appoint one of its members as a
rapporteur in order to draft its opinions. Further to this, a co-rapporteur may be appointed.
SEAC is chaired by an ECHA staff member, Ms Maria Ottati, and is supported by a
committee secretariat provided by ECHA.
4 Expectations of expertise for the SEAC members
The REACH Regulation makes it clear that members of the Committees must possess the
necessary qualifications in order to allow the Committees to meet the high expectations
put on them. A grid showing the fields of expertise that are relevant to SEAC is enclosed
to this document (see the separate Excel-file ‘SEAC Expertise Grid.xls’), and nominees are
asked to fill it in showing their level of expertise in each field.
Key areas of expertise required
The key areas of specialised expertise required by the Committee are:
• Analysis of technical and economic feasibility of alternatives;
• Knowledge about substitution of substances of concern, such as SVHCs;
• Economics, in particular welfare, public sector, environmental or health economics;
• Methodologies analysing costs and benefits of regulation.
In preparation for upcoming work on the Batteries Regulation, technical expertise in
different types of battery technologies would also be an asset.
Each of the members of SEAC need to possess the expertise and the English-language
skills necessary for actively participating in drafting, commenting on and discussing
opinions on proposals for restrictions and applications for authorisation.
Support for members’ activities
In accordance with Article 85(6) of the REACH Regulation, Member States are obliged to
support the SEAC members by providing adequate scientific and technical resources to
them. A 50% time commitment is required from all SEAC members who share their
responsibilities, which include acting as dossier (co-)rapporteurs, contributing to the
discussions at SEAC with timely comments (both in writing in response to consultations on
opinions and other documents, and verbally during the plenaries), and participating in
other SEAC activities such as working groups.
Reimbursement
When attending meetings in person, ECHA reimburses the travel and accommodation
expenses and pays a subsistence allowance to the members. Where relevant, ECHA
remunerates the rapporteur and co-rapporteur for the work undertaken in line with the
rules adopted by the Management Board (MB/41/2020).
5 Further considerations
Annex 5
3(3)
SEAC meetings are held four times a year, typically for up to 2 weeks, and the provisional
dates are published on the Committee pages of the ECHA website at least a year in
advance. The actual number and duration of meetings will naturally depend on the
workload of the Committee. A proportion of the meetings of SEAC will be held in person,
with a significant proportion taking place remotely.
Considering the above, it is estimated that the SEAC member should expect to
work half time with SEAC-related issues in the coming three years.
1(1)
Country Committee Current number of
members Number of vacancies
Austria RAC 2 0
Austria SEAC 1 1
Belgium RAC 2 0
Belgium SEAC 1 1
Bulgaria RAC 2 0
Bulgaria SEAC 1 1
Croatia RAC 2 0 Croatia SEAC 0 2
Cyprus RAC 2 0
Cyprus SEAC 2 0
Czechia RAC 2 0
Czechia SEAC 1 1
Denmark RAC 2 0
Denmark SEAC 1 1
Estonia RAC 1 1
Estonia SEAC 1 1
Finland RAC 2 0
Finland SEAC 1 1
France RAC 2 0
France SEAC 2 0
Germany RAC 2 0
Germany SEAC 2 0
Greece RAC 2 0
Greece SEAC 1 1
Hungary RAC 2 0
Hungary SEAC 0 2
Iceland RAC 0 2
Iceland SEAC 0 2
Ireland RAC 1 1
Ireland* SEAC 1 1
Italy RAC 2 0
Italy SEAC 2 0 Latvia RAC 2 0
Latvia SEAC 1 1 Liechtenstein RAC 0 2
Liechtenstein SEAC 0 2
Lithuania RAC 2 0
Lithuania SEAC 2 0
Luxembourg RAC 2 0
Luxembourg SEAC 1 1
Malta RAC 0 2
Malta SEAC 0 2
Netherlands RAC 2 0
Netherlands SEAC 2 0
Norway RAC 2 0
Norway SEAC 1 1
Poland RAC 2 0
Poland SEAC 0 2
Portugal RAC 1 1
Portugal SEAC 1 1
Romania RAC 2 0
Romania SEAC 0 2
Slovakia RAC 1 1
Slovakia SEAC 0 2
Slovenia RAC 2 0
Slovenia SEAC 2 0
Spain RAC 2 0
Spain SEAC 2 0
Sweden RAC 2 0
Sweden SEAC 1 1
* Nomination for current vacancy in progress
Annex 2 - List of vacant positions on the two Committees
from 1 October 2025
ANNEX 1 1 (1)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | Fax +358 9 68618210 | echa.europa.eu
ANNEX 1 - Current Members of the Committees whose term of office will end by 30 June 2026
Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC)
Country Member Organisation End of
Term
CY Christodoulou
Sotirios
University of Cyprus 29/03/2026
FI Santonen Tiina Finnish Institute of Occupational Health 16/06/2026
DE Schlüter Urs Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Federal office for Chemicals
29/03/2026
GR Tsitsimpikou
Christina
General Directorate of the General
Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
GR Spetseris Nikolaos General Directorate of the General Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
IT Aquilina Gabriele National Institute of Health 21/06/2026
LT Manusadžianas
Levonas
Nature Research Centre 20/06/2026
LU Neumann Michael German Environment Agency 16/06/2026
NL Hakkert Betty National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
20/06/2026
PL Barański Bogusław Bureau for Chemical Substances 18/06/2026
RO Docea Anca University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Craiova
06/04/2026
Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC)
Country Member Organisation End of Term
DE Thiele Karen German Environment Agency 15/12/2025
Tere!
Edastan Euroopa Kemikaaliameti kirja. Eestil ei paista aeguma hakkavaid liikmesusi olevat, on vaid 1 vaba koht RAC ja SEAC komitees.
EV AEEL juures reg. number: 10.2-11/984
Reg. kuupäev: 13.10.2025
Sisu: Nimetamine - (re-)nominate your Member State’s representative/s in the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC)
--
Heade soovidega
Tiiu Noobel
sekretär, EV alaline esindus EL juures
+32 2227 4337
1 (3)
D(2025)0862
Helsinki, 13 October 2025 RS/MO/mm
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Permanent Representations
of the EU Member States and EEA-EFTA Countries
Sent by email only
Subject: Member States’ and EEA-EFTA countries’ nominations to ECHA Committees RAC and SEAC - Renewal and new membership
Dear Sir/Madam,
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is launching the process for (re)nominating
candidates for membership of the Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-
Economic Analysis (SEAC).1
We would like to draw your attention to the importance of prompt nomination of committees’ members. The ex-post evaluation of ECHA’s Committees, conducted in 2023,
found that RAC and SEAC are working at their capacity limits and that there is a significant untapped potential for Member States to nominate more members to these committees.
You are kindly invited to submit your nominations and supporting documents no later
than Monday 27 October 2025 to [email protected].
Please note that nominations must come through the Permanent Representation/Mission
to the EU. This is to be done preferably by forwarding to ECHA, via email, the nomination form (Annex 3) signed by the Member State Competent Authority (MSCA). Supporting
documents can be provided directly to ECHA by the nominee or MSCA.
According to the REACH Regulation each country can nominate up to two RAC and SEAC members. However, some Member States have nominated only one committee member,
and some Member States have nominated none. Because of this, RAC is at about 80% of
full capacity and SEAC at just over 50%. In addition, new expertise is needed to carry out new tasks (Drinking water, Batteries, etc.).
Prior to submitting the (re-)nomination documents, the nominating authority is strongly
recommended to liaise with the Chairs of RAC and SEAC, respectively, to discuss suitable profiles for candidates being nominated for the first time and to discuss the performance
of candidates (current members) proposed for re-nomination:
• Roberto SCAZZOLA Chair of RAC: [email protected]
• Maria OTTATI Chair of SEAC: [email protected]
A phone interview with the respective Chair will be organized for all new candidates; nominations will only be forwarded for consideration by the Management Board of the
Agency once this has successfully been completed and the Chairs have reviewed the qualifications and availability of the nominees.
1 REACH Regulation, Articles 85(1) and (2).
2 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
1. Practicalities
The names of the current members whose term of office is about to end are listed in Annex 1 and the full list of vacancies is contained in Annex 2.
To support Member States in selecting the most appropriate candidates, we attach
background documents (Annexes 4 and 5) that describe the two Committees of ECHA with respect to their tasks, role of members and ways of operation. The background documents
also specify the current needs of the Committees in terms of scientific expertise.
Members are expected to provide at least 50% of their time to the work of the Committees
and the nominating authority, on behalf of the member’s employer, guarantees this by signing Annex 3 of the nomination papers. All members of RAC and SEAC are required to
take on the crucial role of rapporteur and draft the scientific opinion of the Committee on specific cases. Commenting on draft opinions circulated for Committee consultation is also
an important ongoing task.
Supporting documents for nomination of new candidates
• Expertise grid (Annexes 4-5)
• Declaration of Interest (Annex 6) • Europass CV (Annex 7)
Supporting documents for renewal of current membership
• Annexes 4-7. Note that the RAC Expertise grid was updated to take account of specific expertise needed for new RAC processes. Please submit updated grids for
all renewals.
2. Independence of members
The appointing authority is invited to read the ECHA policy on Prevention and Management
of potential Conflicts of Interest and in particular its Annex 2 on the Eligibility criteria for candidates for membership in the ECHA bodies and for key positions in the ECHA
Secretariat.
3. Publication of personal data2
ECHA will process any personal data received in accordance with ECHA’s privacy rules. Please note that the list of nominees, the membership of the Committees, professional
qualifications and Declaration of Interests of the members shall be made public on the
Agency’s website.
If you have any questions, please contact the Committees Secretariat at: committees- [email protected].
Yours faithfully,
(e-signed)3
Peter van der Zandt
Director of Risk Management
2 Article 88(1) and 85 of REACH
3 As this is an electronic document, it is not physically signed. This communication has been approved
according to ECHA’s internal decision approval process.
3 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Cc: REACH Competent Authorities of the Member States Secretariat of the ECHA Management Board
Members of ECHA Committees listed in Annex 1
Encls. Annex 1 Members of the Committees whose term of office is expiring
Annex 2 List of vacant positions on the two Committees
Annex 3 Nomination form
Annex 4 Background paper on RAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 5 Background paper on SEAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 6 ECHA Declaration of Interest
Annex 7 Europass CV template
From: ECHA Committees secretariat <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:04:04 +0000
To: ECHA Committees secretariat <[email protected]>
Subject: Membership in ECHA Committees RAC and SEAC - Nominations by 27 October 2025
Importance: High
Dear Sir/Madam,
With this e-mail, you are invited to (re-)nominate your Member State’s representative/s in the European Chemicals Agency’s Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC). The attached letter and annexes explain the nomination process, documentation required, and background information on the type of expertise sought for the RAC and SEAC members.
On behalf of ECHA, we would like to express our encouragement to the Member State Competent Authorities to continue to support the work of the members of these bodies, which have a continuously increasing workload.
Yours faithfully,
Roberto Scazzola / Chair of RAC
Maria Ottati / Chair of SEAC
|
Committees secretariat |
|
|
|
|
EMAS Registered ISO 9001:2015 certified ISO 14001:2015 certified |
|
|
|
||
1 (3)
D(2025)0862
Helsinki, 13 October 2025 RS/MO/mm
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Permanent Representations
of the EU Member States and EEA-EFTA Countries
Sent by email only
Subject: Member States’ and EEA-EFTA countries’ nominations to ECHA Committees RAC and SEAC - Renewal and new membership
Dear Sir/Madam,
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is launching the process for (re)nominating
candidates for membership of the Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-
Economic Analysis (SEAC).1
We would like to draw your attention to the importance of prompt nomination of committees’ members. The ex-post evaluation of ECHA’s Committees, conducted in 2023,
found that RAC and SEAC are working at their capacity limits and that there is a significant untapped potential for Member States to nominate more members to these committees.
You are kindly invited to submit your nominations and supporting documents no later
than Monday 27 October 2025 to [email protected].
Please note that nominations must come through the Permanent Representation/Mission
to the EU. This is to be done preferably by forwarding to ECHA, via email, the nomination form (Annex 3) signed by the Member State Competent Authority (MSCA). Supporting
documents can be provided directly to ECHA by the nominee or MSCA.
According to the REACH Regulation each country can nominate up to two RAC and SEAC members. However, some Member States have nominated only one committee member,
and some Member States have nominated none. Because of this, RAC is at about 80% of
full capacity and SEAC at just over 50%. In addition, new expertise is needed to carry out new tasks (Drinking water, Batteries, etc.).
Prior to submitting the (re-)nomination documents, the nominating authority is strongly
recommended to liaise with the Chairs of RAC and SEAC, respectively, to discuss suitable profiles for candidates being nominated for the first time and to discuss the performance
of candidates (current members) proposed for re-nomination:
• Roberto SCAZZOLA Chair of RAC: [email protected]
• Maria OTTATI Chair of SEAC: [email protected]
A phone interview with the respective Chair will be organized for all new candidates; nominations will only be forwarded for consideration by the Management Board of the
Agency once this has successfully been completed and the Chairs have reviewed the qualifications and availability of the nominees.
1 REACH Regulation, Articles 85(1) and (2).
2 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
1. Practicalities
The names of the current members whose term of office is about to end are listed in Annex 1 and the full list of vacancies is contained in Annex 2.
To support Member States in selecting the most appropriate candidates, we attach
background documents (Annexes 4 and 5) that describe the two Committees of ECHA with respect to their tasks, role of members and ways of operation. The background documents
also specify the current needs of the Committees in terms of scientific expertise.
Members are expected to provide at least 50% of their time to the work of the Committees
and the nominating authority, on behalf of the member’s employer, guarantees this by signing Annex 3 of the nomination papers. All members of RAC and SEAC are required to
take on the crucial role of rapporteur and draft the scientific opinion of the Committee on specific cases. Commenting on draft opinions circulated for Committee consultation is also
an important ongoing task.
Supporting documents for nomination of new candidates
• Expertise grid (Annexes 4-5)
• Declaration of Interest (Annex 6) • Europass CV (Annex 7)
Supporting documents for renewal of current membership
• Annexes 4-7. Note that the RAC Expertise grid was updated to take account of specific expertise needed for new RAC processes. Please submit updated grids for
all renewals.
2. Independence of members
The appointing authority is invited to read the ECHA policy on Prevention and Management
of potential Conflicts of Interest and in particular its Annex 2 on the Eligibility criteria for candidates for membership in the ECHA bodies and for key positions in the ECHA
Secretariat.
3. Publication of personal data2
ECHA will process any personal data received in accordance with ECHA’s privacy rules. Please note that the list of nominees, the membership of the Committees, professional
qualifications and Declaration of Interests of the members shall be made public on the
Agency’s website.
If you have any questions, please contact the Committees Secretariat at: committees- [email protected].
Yours faithfully,
(e-signed)3
Peter van der Zandt
Director of Risk Management
2 Article 88(1) and 85 of REACH
3 As this is an electronic document, it is not physically signed. This communication has been approved
according to ECHA’s internal decision approval process.
3 (3)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu
Cc: REACH Competent Authorities of the Member States Secretariat of the ECHA Management Board
Members of ECHA Committees listed in Annex 1
Encls. Annex 1 Members of the Committees whose term of office is expiring
Annex 2 List of vacant positions on the two Committees
Annex 3 Nomination form
Annex 4 Background paper on RAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 5 Background paper on SEAC with the updated expertise grid
Annex 6 ECHA Declaration of Interest
Annex 7 Europass CV template
ANNEX 1 1 (1)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | Fax +358 9 68618210 | echa.europa.eu
ANNEX 1 - Current Members of the Committees whose term of office will end by 30 June 2026
Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC)
Country Member Organisation End of
Term
CY Christodoulou
Sotirios
University of Cyprus 29/03/2026
FI Santonen Tiina Finnish Institute of Occupational Health 16/06/2026
DE Schlüter Urs Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Federal office for Chemicals
29/03/2026
GR Tsitsimpikou
Christina
General Directorate of the General
Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
GR Spetseris Nikolaos General Directorate of the General Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
IT Aquilina Gabriele National Institute of Health 21/06/2026
LT Manusadžianas
Levonas
Nature Research Centre 20/06/2026
LU Neumann Michael German Environment Agency 16/06/2026
NL Hakkert Betty National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
20/06/2026
PL Barański Bogusław Bureau for Chemical Substances 18/06/2026
RO Docea Anca University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Craiova
06/04/2026
Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC)
Country Member Organisation End of Term
DE Thiele Karen German Environment Agency 15/12/2025
1(1)
Country Committee Current number of
members Number of vacancies
Austria RAC 2 0
Austria SEAC 1 1
Belgium RAC 2 0
Belgium SEAC 1 1
Bulgaria RAC 2 0
Bulgaria SEAC 1 1
Croatia RAC 2 0 Croatia SEAC 0 2
Cyprus RAC 2 0
Cyprus SEAC 2 0
Czechia RAC 2 0
Czechia SEAC 1 1
Denmark RAC 2 0
Denmark SEAC 1 1
Estonia RAC 1 1
Estonia SEAC 1 1
Finland RAC 2 0
Finland SEAC 1 1
France RAC 2 0
France SEAC 2 0
Germany RAC 2 0
Germany SEAC 2 0
Greece RAC 2 0
Greece SEAC 1 1
Hungary RAC 2 0
Hungary SEAC 0 2
Iceland RAC 0 2
Iceland SEAC 0 2
Ireland RAC 1 1
Ireland* SEAC 1 1
Italy RAC 2 0
Italy SEAC 2 0 Latvia RAC 2 0
Latvia SEAC 1 1 Liechtenstein RAC 0 2
Liechtenstein SEAC 0 2
Lithuania RAC 2 0
Lithuania SEAC 2 0
Luxembourg RAC 2 0
Luxembourg SEAC 1 1
Malta RAC 0 2
Malta SEAC 0 2
Netherlands RAC 2 0
Netherlands SEAC 2 0
Norway RAC 2 0
Norway SEAC 1 1
Poland RAC 2 0
Poland SEAC 0 2
Portugal RAC 1 1
Portugal SEAC 1 1
Romania RAC 2 0
Romania SEAC 0 2
Slovakia RAC 1 1
Slovakia SEAC 0 2
Slovenia RAC 2 0
Slovenia SEAC 2 0
Spain RAC 2 0
Spain SEAC 2 0
Sweden RAC 2 0
Sweden SEAC 1 1
* Nomination for current vacancy in progress
Annex 2 - List of vacant positions on the two Committees
from 1 October 2025
Annex 4
1(4)
Helsinki, 21 October 2024
BACKGROUND PAPER
Committee for Risk Assessment
1 Introduction
The Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is
responsible for providing opinions to the European Commission on:
- Restrictions and Applications for Authorisation under the REACH1 regulation ;
- Harmonised classifications under Classification, Labelling and Packaging CLP2;
- Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) under the CMRD/CAD worker protection
legislation3
- Drinking Water Directive – European Positive List (from 2026);
- Regulation on batteries and waste batteries (from 2025)
All of these processes require an in-depth scientific knowledge and expertise from the
Committee’s members in a variety of specific disciplines.
This document has been developed to support the Member States (MSs) in nominating,
the best candidates to RAC. It provides details on the tasks and expected workload of the
members and the level of support required from their nominating members state. Finally,
the paper concludes with an overview of the fields of expertise needed by the members of
RAC.
2 Composition, role and tasks of the Committee for Risk Assessment
RAC is chaired by Mr Roberto Scazzola who is an ECHA staff member and is supported by
a committee secretariat provided by ECHA.
RAC is composed of members nominated by the EU Member States and EEA-EFTA countries
but appointed by the Management Board of ECHA in their personal capacity as scientists.
It has a nominal capacity of 60 members, two each from the 27 EU and the 3 EEA-EFTA
countries. At the moment there are 46 members, thus 14 regular places are free.
In addition, RAC can co-opt up to five additional members. At the moment there are five
co-opted members appointed.
1 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, OJ L 396, 30.12.2006 p.1, corrected version in OJ L 136, 29.5.2007, p. 3 2 Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, OJ L 353, 31.12.2008 3 DIRECTIVE 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work
Summary: The Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) is currently looking for specialists
to be nominated in particular in the fields of:
• epidemiology (worker/consumer)
• toxicology and human health risk assessment
• drinking water directive
• batteries and waste batteries
• environmental risk assessment
• biodegradation and ecotoxicology
• occupational hygiene and medicine
Annex 4
2(4)
RAC is a multidisciplinary Committee covering diverse types of processes and it
formulates opinions in relation to the following:
• Applications for Authorisation – Assessing the risk from the use(s) of a
substance to workers and the environment arising from those uses for which
authorisation is being sought. This includes an assessment of the operational
conditions and risk management measures and the related exposures described in
the application (Article 64(4) of the REACH Regulation);
• Restrictions - Evaluating whether the restrictions proposed by a Member State or
ECHA for a substance are appropriate in reducing the risk to human health and/or
the environment;
• Harmonised Classification and Labelling - Evaluating proposals from Member
States or manufacturers, importers or downstream users for harmonised
classification and labelling of a substance under the CLP Regulation.
• Occupational Exposure Limits – RAC is requested by the European Commission
to provide scientific evaluations on occupational exposure limits for carcinogens and
chemical agents at the workplace.
• Drinking water – Assessing applications to add/remove substances to/from the
European positive list
• Batteries - identifying substances of concern found in batteries or used in their
manufacturing and preparing proposals to restrict substances in both batteries and
waste batteries
3 Expectations of expertise for the RAC members
The REACH Regulation makes it clear that members must possess the necessary
qualifications in order to allow the Committees to meet the high expectations placed on
them. RAC members require a knowledge of regulatory science and its use under the
REACH, CLP and OSH Regulations, related to chemicals. To provide independent scientific
advice, the Committee requires expertise from both regulatory scientists and from
academics.
Key areas of expertise required
The key areas of specialised expertise required by the Committee are presented below.
Applications for Authorisations and Occupation Health and safety
• Epidemiology and occupational medicine
• Human health risk assessment in particular carcinogenicity
• Occupational hygiene and workplace exposure assessment
• Risk Management Measures and operational conditions
• Indirect exposure (humans via the environment); emissions to air, water,
soil/sediment
Classification Labelling and Packaging (CLP)
• Regulatory toxicology: carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, toxicity to reproduction
Specific Target Organ Toxicity, Sensitization, acute toxicity
• Ecotoxicology and biodegradation
• Test Guideline development
• Understanding of the CLP criteria
Restrictions
• Human health and environmental health risk assessment
• Technical aspects of restrictions: effectiveness, monitorability, etc
Annex 4
3(4)
• Risk management measures
• PBT, vPvB
Occupational exposure limits
• Occupational medicine
• Epidemiology
• Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity, including Mode of Action
Drinking Water
• Water chemistry
• Materials science
• Migration testing
• Human health risk assessment
Batteries and waste batteries
• Knowledge of different batteries types, including manufacturing processes,
recycling of materials and disposal of waste batteries acquired from work
experience in industry and/or in the sector of battery waste management and/or
in public regulatory bodies with emphasis to chemicals management
• Experience in the regulatory risk management of substances in batteries and
waste batteries under relevant legislation on batteries (e.g. Batteries Directive),
vehicle batteries (e.g. ELV Directive), batteries using equipment (e.g. RoHS
directive) etc.
Support for member’s activities
Member State Competent Authorities are obliged to provide support to enable RAC
members to accomplish their activities in RAC in accordance with Art. 85(6), keeping in
mind the scientific independence of the members as established under Article 85(7) of the
REACH Regulation. To this end, RAC members should be entitled to dedicate a major part
of their working time to RAC activities - at least 50% of their time (See Annex III) -
which requires specific arrangements with the members and their institutions/employers.
This support could include the provision of regular advisers depending on the topic and ad-
hoc specialists plus administrative support.
Rapporteurships
Most of the work of RAC is conducted between meetings and consists of drafting by
Rapporteurs and consultation of the Committee’s opinions with the membership. According
to Article 87(1) of the REACH Regulation, the members of RAC are expected to serve
as (co-) rapporteurs for preparing the opinions of the Committee. Each member is
expected to act as a rapporteurs or co-rapporteur for several dossiers per year during
his/her 3-year membership depending on the scale of individual dossiers, this may be lower
or higher. It should be noted that the scale and scope of dossiers can vary considerably.
Written commenting rounds on opinions
All RAC members are expected to provide their comments and views on the different draft
proposals during written consultations and should be fully involved in the opinion-making
process.
Reimbursement
ECHA reimburses the travel and accommodation expenses and pays subsistence allowance
to the members and, where relevant, remunerates the rapporteur and co-rapporteur for
the work undertaken in line with the rules adopted by the Management Board
(MB/41/2020). As no remuneration is considered for the rapporteurs of CLH dossiers, ECHA
has implemented a mechanism for supporting them and thus contributing to the costs. The
participation of one adviser supporting the CLH rapporteur in RAC meetings where the
Annex 4
4(4)
substance is discussed is reimbursed. Advisers not employed in the public service of the
Member State can also receive an expert remuneration for their contribution to the
meeting.
5 Further considerations
RAC meetings are held four times a year, at present this usually consists of a single week
meetings; the provisional dates are published on the Committee pages of the ECHA website
at least a year in advance.
Please note that RAC has established four working groups for:
- Authorisations,
- Restrictions,
- Classification and Labelling and
- Drinking Water (to prepare for the implementation of the legislation).
These working groups meet between plenary meetings and pre-assess all dossiers ahead
of the next plenary, making recommendatios to RAC. Members and/or their advisors are
expected to be active in the Working Groups of RAC.
Annex 5
1(3)
Helsinki, 21 October 2024
BACKGROUND PAPER
Committee for Socio-economic Analysis
1 Introduction
The Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) of the European Chemicals Agency
(ECHA) plays an important role in the key REACH1 processes concerning restrictions and
authorisations, as well as, from 2024, regulation on batteries and waste batteries.
Furthermore, it delivers opinions on any other aspects that arise from the operation of
REACH relating to the socio-economic impacts of possible legislative action on substances.
This document has been developed to support the Member States (MSs) in the process of
renewal of memberships of SEAC, and/or of nomination of new candidates. It provides
details on the expected workload of the members and the level of support required from
their nominating Member State. Finally, the paper presents an overview of the fields of
expertise to be covered in SEAC.
2 Composition, role and tasks of the Committee for Socio-economic Analysis
SEAC is composed of members appointed by the Management Board based on nominations
made by the Member States and EEA-EFTA countries. At the moment there are 32
members. In addition to members, SEAC can co-opt up to five additional members.
In accordance with Article 77(1) of the Regulation, the task of ECHA is to provide the best
possible scientific and technical advice on questions related to chemicals. The ECHA
Committees (RAC, SEAC and MSC) are an essential part of the smooth functioning of
REACH. The tasks of SEAC are described in REACH in Article 76(1)(d).
SEAC formulates an ECHA opinion in relation to the following:
• Authorisation – Assessing the socio-economic factors related to applications for
authorisation and the availability and technical and economic feasibility of
alternatives.
• Restrictions – Assessing proposed restrictions under REACH and Batteries
Regulation and their socio-economic impact.
1 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).
Summary: The Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) is currently looking for
specialists to be nominated in particular in the fields of:
• economics (welfare, regulatory, public sector, environmental and/or health
economics)
• chemical engineering (substitution of hazardous substances and analysis of
technical feasibility of alternatives)
Annex 5
2(3)
In addition, the Executive Director of ECHA may ask SEAC to draw up an opinion on any
other aspects concerning the safety of substances on their own, in preparations or in
articles (Article 77(3)(b) and (c)).
3 Working procedures
There are fixed, tight deadlines for the delivery of SEAC’s opinions, and consequently the
committee will be under time pressure to deliver its opinions.
Article 87(1) stipulates that the Committee shall appoint one of its members as a
rapporteur in order to draft its opinions. Further to this, a co-rapporteur may be appointed.
SEAC is chaired by an ECHA staff member, Ms Maria Ottati, and is supported by a
committee secretariat provided by ECHA.
4 Expectations of expertise for the SEAC members
The REACH Regulation makes it clear that members of the Committees must possess the
necessary qualifications in order to allow the Committees to meet the high expectations
put on them. A grid showing the fields of expertise that are relevant to SEAC is enclosed
to this document (see the separate Excel-file ‘SEAC Expertise Grid.xls’), and nominees are
asked to fill it in showing their level of expertise in each field.
Key areas of expertise required
The key areas of specialised expertise required by the Committee are:
• Analysis of technical and economic feasibility of alternatives;
• Knowledge about substitution of substances of concern, such as SVHCs;
• Economics, in particular welfare, public sector, environmental or health economics;
• Methodologies analysing costs and benefits of regulation.
In preparation for upcoming work on the Batteries Regulation, technical expertise in
different types of battery technologies would also be an asset.
Each of the members of SEAC need to possess the expertise and the English-language
skills necessary for actively participating in drafting, commenting on and discussing
opinions on proposals for restrictions and applications for authorisation.
Support for members’ activities
In accordance with Article 85(6) of the REACH Regulation, Member States are obliged to
support the SEAC members by providing adequate scientific and technical resources to
them. A 50% time commitment is required from all SEAC members who share their
responsibilities, which include acting as dossier (co-)rapporteurs, contributing to the
discussions at SEAC with timely comments (both in writing in response to consultations on
opinions and other documents, and verbally during the plenaries), and participating in
other SEAC activities such as working groups.
Reimbursement
When attending meetings in person, ECHA reimburses the travel and accommodation
expenses and pays a subsistence allowance to the members. Where relevant, ECHA
remunerates the rapporteur and co-rapporteur for the work undertaken in line with the
rules adopted by the Management Board (MB/41/2020).
5 Further considerations
Annex 5
3(3)
SEAC meetings are held four times a year, typically for up to 2 weeks, and the provisional
dates are published on the Committee pages of the ECHA website at least a year in
advance. The actual number and duration of meetings will naturally depend on the
workload of the Committee. A proportion of the meetings of SEAC will be held in person,
with a significant proportion taking place remotely.
Considering the above, it is estimated that the SEAC member should expect to
work half time with SEAC-related issues in the coming three years.
1(1)
Country Committee Current number of
members Number of vacancies
Austria RAC 2 0
Austria SEAC 1 1
Belgium RAC 2 0
Belgium SEAC 1 1
Bulgaria RAC 2 0
Bulgaria SEAC 1 1
Croatia RAC 2 0 Croatia SEAC 0 2
Cyprus RAC 2 0
Cyprus SEAC 2 0
Czechia RAC 2 0
Czechia SEAC 1 1
Denmark RAC 2 0
Denmark SEAC 1 1
Estonia RAC 1 1
Estonia SEAC 1 1
Finland RAC 2 0
Finland SEAC 1 1
France RAC 2 0
France SEAC 2 0
Germany RAC 2 0
Germany SEAC 2 0
Greece RAC 2 0
Greece SEAC 1 1
Hungary RAC 2 0
Hungary SEAC 0 2
Iceland RAC 0 2
Iceland SEAC 0 2
Ireland RAC 1 1
Ireland* SEAC 1 1
Italy RAC 2 0
Italy SEAC 2 0 Latvia RAC 2 0
Latvia SEAC 1 1 Liechtenstein RAC 0 2
Liechtenstein SEAC 0 2
Lithuania RAC 2 0
Lithuania SEAC 2 0
Luxembourg RAC 2 0
Luxembourg SEAC 1 1
Malta RAC 0 2
Malta SEAC 0 2
Netherlands RAC 2 0
Netherlands SEAC 2 0
Norway RAC 2 0
Norway SEAC 1 1
Poland RAC 2 0
Poland SEAC 0 2
Portugal RAC 1 1
Portugal SEAC 1 1
Romania RAC 2 0
Romania SEAC 0 2
Slovakia RAC 1 1
Slovakia SEAC 0 2
Slovenia RAC 2 0
Slovenia SEAC 2 0
Spain RAC 2 0
Spain SEAC 2 0
Sweden RAC 2 0
Sweden SEAC 1 1
* Nomination for current vacancy in progress
Annex 2 - List of vacant positions on the two Committees
from 1 October 2025
ANNEX 1 1 (1)
P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | Fax +358 9 68618210 | echa.europa.eu
ANNEX 1 - Current Members of the Committees whose term of office will end by 30 June 2026
Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC)
Country Member Organisation End of
Term
CY Christodoulou
Sotirios
University of Cyprus 29/03/2026
FI Santonen Tiina Finnish Institute of Occupational Health 16/06/2026
DE Schlüter Urs Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Federal office for Chemicals
29/03/2026
GR Tsitsimpikou
Christina
General Directorate of the General
Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
GR Spetseris Nikolaos General Directorate of the General Chemical State Laboratory
22/03/2026
IT Aquilina Gabriele National Institute of Health 21/06/2026
LT Manusadžianas
Levonas
Nature Research Centre 20/06/2026
LU Neumann Michael German Environment Agency 16/06/2026
NL Hakkert Betty National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
20/06/2026
PL Barański Bogusław Bureau for Chemical Substances 18/06/2026
RO Docea Anca University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Craiova
06/04/2026
Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC)
Country Member Organisation End of Term
DE Thiele Karen German Environment Agency 15/12/2025