What is the tonnage threshold for REACH on aluminium oxide (alumina)?

Registration required for any importer or manufacturer placing >1 t/year on the EU market

CAS 1344-28-1 · REACH · European Union

Aluminium oxide (alumina) under REACH

Al2O3 · 氧化铝

Status: Registered. Aluminium oxide is fully registered under REACH at the highest tonnage band (>1,000,000 tonnes/year). **Distinguishing pattern: Bayer-process production route from bauxite (Al2O3.nH2O minerals) dominant globally (~95% of capacity, verify against ICIS or USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries before quoting) + smelter-grade alumina (SGA, ~90% of consumption) for aluminium electrolysis (Hall-Heroult cells) and specialty / non-metallurgical alumina (~10% of consumption) for refractory plus ceramic plus abrasive plus catalyst-support plus polishing plus flame-retardant downstream chains + completes refractory-oxide chain alongside calcium oxide batch 67 plus magnesium oxide batch 70 (Al2O3 + CaO + MgO joint refractory chemistry; MA spinel and CMA cement chemistry) + low hazard profile (NOT classified as hazardous under CLP at industrial-grade purity beyond inhalable / respirable particulate dust).** No harmonised CLP entry for non-nano aluminium oxide; ECHA C&L Inventory aggregates notifier classifications: NOT typically classified as hazardous (verify against ECHA https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals before relying). NOT SVHC. NOT Annex XIV. NO active EU AD case on Chinese-origin aluminium oxide currently (verify against EUR-Lex https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ before invoicing); however, **the EU has multiple active AD measures on Chinese-origin downstream aluminium products (foil, extrusions, road wheels, flat-rolled, etc.); verify scope against EUR-Lex before relying on aluminium-chain duty status**.

Aluminium oxide is fully REACH-registered with **low hazard profile** (NOT typically classified as hazardous beyond respirable-dust handling; IARC Group 1 covers occupational exposures during aluminium production overall, NOT aluminium oxide itself). NOT SVHC, NOT Annex XIV. NO active EU AD on aluminium oxide itself. **EU has multiple active AD measures on downstream Chinese aluminium products** + **EU CBAM Phase 1 covers downstream aluminium products** (verify both against EUR-Lex). **Bayer-process from bauxite ~95% of capacity**; **SGA smelter-grade ~90% of consumption + specialty alumina ~10%**. **Completes refractory-oxide chain alongside CaO + MgO**. Major Chinese producers: CHALCO, China Hongqiao Group, Xinfa, Weiqiao, East Hope.

Listing and threshold

Substance	Aluminium oxide (alumina) (CAS 1344-28-1), Al2O3
Regime	EU Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
Jurisdiction	European Union (EU-27 plus EEA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway)
Status	Registered
Tonnage threshold	Registration required for any importer or manufacturer placing >1 t/year on the EU market

Classifications under this regime

No harmonised CLP entry for non-nano aluminium oxide; notifier classification (per ECHA C&L Inventory): NOT typically classified as hazardous at industrial-grade purity (verify against ECHA C&L Inventory before relying)
IARC: Not classified (note: the IARC classification for occupational exposures during aluminium production overall is Group 1, but this covers the production process / coal-tar pitch volatile exposures, not aluminium oxide itself; verify against monographs.iarc.who.int Volume 100F before relying)
NOT subject to Drug Precursors or Explosives Precursors scheduling
ADR / RID transport classification: NOT regulated
**EU Pharmacopoeia monograph** for pharma-grade aluminium oxide / activated alumina (verify monograph reference against EDQM / Ph. Eur. before relying)
Inhalable / respirable particulate dust workplace exposure considerations apply (verify against ECHA REACH registration dossier and national OEL lists before relying)

Restrictions and conditions of use

NOT on REACH Annex XIV (verify against ECHA https://echa.europa.eu/authorisation-list)
NOT classified as SVHC (verify against ECHA https://echa.europa.eu/candidate-list-table)
NOT subject to any Annex XVII restriction
NO active EU AD case on Chinese-origin aluminium oxide currently (verify against EUR-Lex https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ before invoicing)
**EU has multiple active AD measures on Chinese-origin downstream aluminium products** (aluminium foil, extrusions, road wheels, flat-rolled products, etc.); verify scope and current status against EUR-Lex before relying on aluminium-chain duty status
**EU CBAM Phase 1 covers downstream aluminium products** (verify CBAM aluminium-chain scope against EUR-Lex Reg (EU) 2023/956 before relying); aluminium oxide upstream is generally outside Phase 1 direct scope but CBAM-priced electricity flows through to Hall-Heroult smelter-grade alumina chain
**EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) Reg (EU) 2024/1252 lists bauxite plus alumina as Strategic Raw Material** (verify the CRMA citation, publication date, and Strategic / Critical Raw Material annex placement against EUR-Lex https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1252/oj before relying); CRMA drives EU strategic-stockpile, supply-chain-diversification, and permitting-acceleration regime for the bauxite-alumina-aluminium chain

Importer obligations

A non-EU producer cannot register directly under REACH. The EU importer of record must hold a registration or rely on an Only Representative (OR). Major Chinese alumina producers (verify each producer-site pair against the producer's public website before relying on a specific plant): CHALCO (China Aluminum Corporation) Shandong plus Shanxi plus Henan plus Guangxi operations, China Hongqiao Group Shandong Binzhou operations, Xinfa Group Shandong operations, Weiqiao Aluminum (China Hongqiao) Shandong operations, East Hope Group Inner Mongolia plus Shandong operations.

Required documents

REACH registration number on EU side
SDS (low hazard profile, with respirable dust handling notes)
Customs entry HS code 281820 (aluminium oxide, other than artificial corundum) or 281810 (artificial corundum)
No ADR documentation required
Pharma-grade Ph. Eur. certification where applicable

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

**Bayer-process production from bauxite dominant globally (~95%); SGA smelter-grade ~90% of consumption + specialty / non-metallurgical alumina ~10%**
**Completes refractory-oxide chain alongside CaO batch 67 plus MgO batch 70** (Al2O3 + CaO + MgO joint refractory chemistry, MA spinel + CMA cement)
NOT SVHC, NOT Annex XIV, NO active EU AD on aluminium oxide itself
**EU has multiple active AD measures on Chinese-origin downstream aluminium products** (foil, extrusions, road wheels, flat-rolled); verify against EUR-Lex
**EU CBAM Phase 1 covers downstream aluminium products**; verify CBAM aluminium-chain scope against EUR-Lex Reg (EU) 2023/956
**Refractory plus ceramic plus abrasive plus catalyst-support plus polishing plus flame-retardant downstream chains for non-metallurgical alumina**
Major Chinese producers: CHALCO Shandong+Shanxi+Henan+Guangxi, China Hongqiao Group Shandong Binzhou, Xinfa Shandong, Weiqiao Shandong, East Hope Inner Mongolia+Shandong (verify each producer-site pair)

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for aluminium oxide (alumina), see the CAS 1344-28-1 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the aluminium oxide (alumina) cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of REACH, see the REACH glossary entry.

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

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