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On March 26, 2026, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) released the final opinion of its Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) and the draft opinion of its Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (SEAC) on the proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. According to ECHA, RAC and SEAC “support an EU-wide restriction, subject to specific derogations, on the...

After February 5, 2027, companies wishing to benefit from the reduced fees for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SME) must apply for company size validation prior to submitting their Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) dossiers. This contrasts with the current process, where SME status is confirmed retrospectively, after registrations are submitted. Under the European Commission’s updated REACH Fee Regulation, SMEs planning to...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Christine M. Palermo, Ph.D., DABT has joined our firms as Director of Regulatory Sciences. Dr. Palermo provides Acta clients with global strategy in chemical regulatory compliance, risk assessment, and product stewardship, assisting clients to commercialize new products and expand markets for existing product portfolios. Dr. Palermo deploys the extensive domestic and international experience she...

The European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) met in December 2025. According to ECHA’s December 17, 2025, press release, RAC and SEAC progressed their evaluation of the updated proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. According to ECHA, both committees reached provisional...

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) appears to be headed for yet another full-year delay following growing political pressure, concerns about the readiness of the European Commission’s (EC) information technology (IT) systems, and intensifying industry warnings that the current December 30, 2025, compliance deadline is becoming increasingly unrealistic. While the EC has not yet officially postponed the implementation date, the signals coming out of Brussels are...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on October 9, 2025, that at its October 7-8, 2025, meeting, the Member State Committee (MSC) agreed to identify 1,1'-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis[pentabromobenzene] (DBDPE) as a substance of very high concern (SVHC) because of its very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) properties. ECHA states that it plans to add the substance to the Candidate List in November 2025. ECHA notes that “[b]esides the regular obligations following the...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on August 20, 2025, that it published an updated proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. The authorities from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden (Dossier Submitters) submitted the initial proposal in January 2023 and have now completed their evaluation of more than 5,600 scientific and...

The European Commission (EC) released on July 7, 2025, a Chemicals Industry Action Plan (Action Plan) to strengthen the competitiveness and modernization of the European Union’s (EU) chemical sector. According to the EC, the Action Plan addresses key challenges, “namely high energy costs, unfair global competition, and weak demand, while promoting investment in innovation and sustainability.” The EC also released a simplification omnibus on chemicals to streamline and simplify further key...

On June 23, 2025, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) published a Think Tank briefing entitled “Targeted scrutiny of the EU chemicals strategy for sustainability.” According to EPRS, while the European Commission (EC) has made progress in implementing initiatives outlined in the 2020 Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, certain key actions remain unfulfilled. These include revising the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation...

The Council of the European Union (EU) announced on June 12, 2025, that it reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament (EP) on the “one substance, one assessment” (OSOA) legislative package, “which aims to streamline assessments of chemicals across relevant EU legislation, strengthen the knowledge base on chemicals, and ensure early detection and action on emerging chemical risks.” The package contains three proposals: a directive concerning the re-attribution of...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on May 20, 2025, that the redesigned Classification and Labeling (C&L) Inventory is now available in ECHA CHEM, ECHA’s public database containing information from all Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registrations received by ECHA. According to ECHA, the C&L Inventory includes information on more than 4,400 European Union (EU)-level harmonized classifications and seven million classifications...

The European Commission (EC) requested that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) assess the risks posed by certain hexavalent chromium substances. ECHA announced on April 29, 2025, that it has concluded that a European Union (EU)-wide restriction for hexavalent chromium substances is justified because the substances “are among the most potent workplace carcinogens and pose a serious risk to workers’ health.” ECHA states that it expects to begin a six-month public consultation on a ban on...

Register now to join The Acta Group (Acta®) and EPPA for “PFAS Updates: What’s Happening in the U.S. and EU,” a complimentary webinar offering expert updates on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulatory developments. These substances are attracting global legal, regulatory, commercial, and litigation attention as no other “emerging contaminant” has. While the U.S. Administration is new, PFAS regulation continues at a rapid pace and U.S. state initiatives are evolving...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on February 26, 2025, that it has updated its annual statistics on evaluation progress. According to ECHA, between 2009 and 2024, it checked the compliance of 15,500 Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation registrations, representing 23 percent of all submitted registration dossiers and covering 3,200 substances. For high-volume chemicals registered at quantities of 100 metric tons or more per year,...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on January 21, 2025, that it added five chemicals to the Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC) and updated one entry: Substance NameReason for InclusionExamples of Uses6-[(C10-C13)-alkyl-(branched, unsaturated)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidin-1-yl]hexanoic acidToxic for reproduction (Article 57(c))Lubricants, greases, release products, and metal working fluidsO,O,O-triphenyl...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®), and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are pleased to share with you our 2025 Forecast. For all the reasons you might imagine, our seasoned team was especially challenged this year in speculating on what to expect in 2025 regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical regulatory and policy initiatives. Given the European Parliamentary...

The December 18, 2024, issue of ECHA Weekly includes an item announcing the release of the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) draft Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) update for years 2025-27. The draft update contains 31 substances, including 13 new substances, compared to the current CoRAP 2024-2026; eight substances planned for evaluation in 2025, including two groups of two substances; 15 substances for evaluation in...

On November 20, 2024, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the authorities from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden released a progress update on the process to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Europe. According to ECHA’s press release, the five authorities (Dossier Submitters) and ECHA’s scientific committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) continue to consider more than 5,600 scientific and technical comments...

According to the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) September 2024 summary of the current status of the scientific evaluation of the proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ECHA’s Scientific Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) are continuing to evaluate the 2023 proposal to restrict more than 10,000 PFAS under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. According to the summary, RAC...