Spotlight on Regulatory Updates
What You Need to Know
Authorisation: Industry boosted by first successful application but 9 more substances become subject Authorisation.
An update to the Official Journal was published on August 19th to include nine additional substances to Annex XIV of REACH. The Authorisation process is applied to the highest risk Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) to ensure proper control of use, and to encourage replacement with suitable alternatives. Substances on the Authorisation list cannot...
EU Commissions endocrine disrupting chemicals.
EDCs or endocrine disrupting chemicals are chemicals that depending on the dose, can affect the hormone or endocrine system in mammals by causing tumors or birth defects, or by stimulating developmental disorders. These disrupters can be harmful to any system in the body that is regulated by hormones. In order to better understand and...
ECHA Announces registrants are utilizing new methods for animal testing
ECHA has announced in its most recent report that registrants are now widely accepting and utilizing alternative methods to minimize animal testing. Although REACH is still requiring the same information for submissions, registrants have explored alternative methods such as in vitro and read-across studies to fill data requirements. These two methods have been extensively promoted...
ECHA’s Key Committees Busy Reviewing Restriction Proposals
During recent meetings in June, the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC), which analyses the risk of substances to both human and environmental health, developed opinions on two different restriction proposals. The first proposal concerned nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) and the second 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone commonly known as NMP. The Committee for Socioeconomic analysis...
“Four New SVHCs added to the Candidate List”
The Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for Authorisation has been updated today, 16th June, to include four new substances. The total number of substances on the Candidate List now stands at 155. The substances added in this revision include Cadmium Chloride, two boron substances and a phthalate. Cadmium chloride (CdCl2) is a...
New Chemical Regulation for ECHA
On the 1st March 2014, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) became the responsible body for another Chemical Regulation in the EU. The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation, EU 649/2012 is a recast of an existing piece of legislation that governs the export and import of certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in the EU. This Regulation...
Five new substances for Authorisation – ECHA tests SVHC selection criteria
A new list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) has passed through the public consultation and ECHA committee stages and is now recommended to the EU Commission for inclusion onto the Authorisation List. All 5 substances were put forward for consideration owing to their intrinsic properties (listed on the Candidate List), high volumes...
First Application for Authorisation successfully through ECHA committee stage.
First Authorisation Application gets an “A” The first Authorisation Application submitted under the REACH program for the use of a substance of very high concern (SVHC), took a big step forward when ECHA‘s scientific committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) adopted acceptable opinions on this application. Rolls-Royce is the first company to...
Seven New Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC’s) added to Candidate list
The European Chemical Agency announced today that seven new SVHC’s were added to the candidate list, which now brings the list to 151 substances. What is the Candidate list? The first step in the authorisation process is to identify those substances that may have serious effects on human health or the environment and, therefore,...
Nanotechnology – what is it? And why is it in my sunscreen?
Nanotechnology has infiltrated our lives in many forms from the silver in our deodorant as an anti-microbial agent to zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as strong absorption materials of ultra-violet light in our sunscreens. In order to understand how they will affect our lives, it is important to understand what they are. The...
Proposed Harmonization of Classification for Methanol
The European Chemicals Agency, ECHA, have launched a public consultation on the reclassification of Methanol (CAS 67-56-1) to include Reproductive Toxicity Category 1B H360D. This consultation will close on 13 Dec 2013. The Italian and Dutch Competent Authorities are proposing this additional classification, based on scientific evidence suggesting that methanol has adverse effects on the...
New Restriction Proposals in commonly used chemicals.
What will this mean for your business? The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recently announced a 6 month public consultation on two proposed restrictions of commonly used chemicals. One relates to the solvent, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and the other the surfactant Nonylphenol (NP) and it’s ethoxylates (NPE). The restrictions have been proposed as a result of risks posed...