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On February 28, 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that it updated its recommendations to improve Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registrations. According to ECHA, the recommendations are based on ECHA’s findings from registration dossier compliance checks and take recent changes to REACH information requirements into account. The recommendations focus on the rules for using adaptations to assess the safety of chemicals without...

On June 29, 2021, the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Board of Appeal (BoA) issued a decision on a compliance check case (A-001-2020) regarding registration obligations for polymer importers. ECHA rejected the adaptations by which the Appellant had sought to fulfill the standard information requirements for a sub-chronic toxicity study (Section 8.6.2. of Annex IX to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation), a pre-natal developmental...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) carries out a completeness check on each incoming registration, as set out in Article 20(2) of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. In 2021 and 2022, the European Commission (EC) amended some of the information requirements for registering chemicals under REACH. In its January 23, 2023, press release, ECHA states that, beginning May 1, 2023, it will start checking both new registrations...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on January 17, 2023, that it has added nine chemicals to the Candidate List because of their hazardous properties. According to ECHA, the chemicals are used in flame retardants, paints and coatings, inks and toners, coating products, and plasticizers, and in the manufacture of pulp and paper. The chemicals are: Substance NameReason for InclusionExamples of...

The Acta Group's (Acta®) January 17, 2023, webinar, “Two Years Later: How Has the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Changed REACH and CLP Regulations?,” is now available for on-demand viewing. During this one-hour webinar Meglena Mihova, Managing Partner, EPPA; Thomas Petry, Ph.D., Managing Director, ToxMinds; Jane S. Vergnes, Ph.D., DABT®, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Director of Toxicology, Acta; and Lynn L. Bergeson, President, Acta, explore exactly how the Chemicals Strategy...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is holding a public consultation on a harmonized classification and labeling (CLH) proposal for a biocidal active substance, 3-iodo-2-propynyl butylcarbamate; 3-iodoprop-2-yn-1-yl butylcarbamate (IPBC) (European Community Number (EC No.) 259-627-5, Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number® (CAS RN®) 55406-53-6). ECHA used a combined format, including the...

On October 14, 2020, the European Commission adopted the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The Strategy set into motion a series of remarkable actions by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) intended to transform the European Union (EU) into a sustainable and carbon neutral economy while improving protection of its people and the environment. The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) regulations...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on November 16, 2022, that the Enforcement Forum agreed that the next Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) enforcement project will investigate how companies fulfill the registration, authorization, and restriction obligations for products and chemicals they import from outside the European Union (EU). According to ECHA, the project will be done in 2023-2025 and “will require close...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has opened a call for evidence on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its additives related to: Uses; European Union (EU) volumes per use sector and end-use; End-of-life information per use; and Experimental/measured release and exposure information. ECHA states that with this call, it seeks to obtain an understanding on the use volumes at the EU level per sector and for as many end-uses as feasible, but company-specific information is also welcome. To facilitate...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has received restriction proposals for: 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol (bisphenol A) and other bisphenols and bisphenol derivatives with endocrine disrupting properties for the environment, prepared by the German authority. The proposal would restrict the use as an additive and the content in articles (0.02 percent by weight); restrict content of residues (unreacted monomer) in articles and for imported goods (0.02 percent by weight); restrict the use of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recently reminded only representatives (OR) that they must identify the non-European Union (EU) manufacturers that they represent and provide their contact information in REACH-IT by October 14, 2022. According to an April 24, 2022, news item, ORs must have a separate REACH-IT account for each non-EU manufacturer they represent and have...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has begun public consultations on nine proposals to identify new substances of very high concern (SVHC). The substances and examples of their uses are: 4,4'-sulphonyldiphenol (bisphenol S; BPS): The substance is used for the manufacture of pulp, paper, and paper products; textile, leather, or fur; and chemicals. Perfluoroheptanoic acid and its salts:...

According to an item in the August 10, 2022, ECHA Weekly, France, Ireland, and Germany are requesting interested parties to submit information related to skin sensitizing substances in consumer mixtures. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) website states that this is an opportunity for all sectors to provide information on the presence of skin sensitizing substances in mixtures with consumer uses, including information on known safe uses. The call for evidence is issued to assess...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recently reminded registrants of substances with a harmonized classification to update their dossiers. According to an item in the July 13, 2022, ECHA Weekly, ECHA will soon begin a second screening project to check that companies are keeping their registrations updated. The project will focus on substances with a harmonized classification and...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on June 10, 2022, that n-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide has been added to the Candidate List as it may cause cancer or genetic defects. According to ECHA, it is mostly used in polymers and when manufacturing other chemicals, textiles, leather, or fur. Candidate List substances may be placed on the Authorization List in the future. If a substance is on that list, its use will be prohibited unless companies apply for authorization and the European...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published an item in its May 11, 2022, ECHA Weekly announcing that it is launching consultations to support the Member State Committee (MSC) in adopting an opinion on whether 4,4’-methylenediphenol (BPF), 4,4’-[2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethylidene]diphenol (BPAF), and eight BPAF salts meet the criteria for endocrine disrupting substances for the environment, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Program on...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) implemented new checks on Chemical Safety Reports (CSR) submitted via European Union (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registration dossiers since March 1, 2021, so that it can “better fulfil” its obligation to ensure that registrations meet the information requirements. ECHA’s CSR manual completeness check includes the following elements: The CSR must contain an exposure assessment and risk...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) reports on the effectiveness of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) authorization process. TCE was added to the authorization list (Annex XIV) in 2013 because of its carcinogenic properties. The substance cannot be placed on the market, or used, unless an authorization is granted by the European Commission (EC) or an exemption applies. REACH registration data show that 50,000 metric tons of trichloroethylene (TCE)...

The European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) Socio Economic Assessment Committee (SEAC) has reviewed Norway’s restriction proposal for 1,6,7,8,9,14,15,16,17,17,18,18-Dodecachloropentacyclo[12.2.1.16,9.02,13.05,10]octadeca-7,15-diene (Dechlorane Plus™) and requests further information from stakeholders. Norway has identified several restriction options and each affects the manufacture, use, and placing the substance on the market in concentrations >0.1 percent, with possible...

The European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) update for the years 2022–2024 lists 27 substances suspected of posing a risk to human health or the environment. Two of the substances are new to the evaluation process and the other 25 are existing. The two new substances are: Substance name Initial grounds of concern 1,3,4,6,7,8- hexahydro4,6,6,7,8,8- hexamethylindeno[5 ,6-c]pyran Potential endocrine disruptor, suspected...