EU REACH and UK REACH regulatory, policy, and business developments

June 13, 2025

Defra Calls for Comments on Indicative Lists for LC-PFCAs, Their Salts, and Related Compounds

On June 2, 2025, the United Kingdom (UK) Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) requested comment on a draft indicative list for long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCA), their salts, and related compounds. According to Defra, at the 20th meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention on POPs, the Committee recommended listing LC-PFCAs, their salts, and related compounds in Annex A of the Convention, allowing for...
May 23, 2025

EC Announces Low- and High-Risk Countries under the EUDR

The European Commission (EC) released on May 22, 2025, the identity of the countries that present a low or high risk of deforestation in producing seven commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood) that are “the most relevant in terms of driving global deforestation and forest degradation” under the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The classification takes into account other criteria as listed in Article 29(4) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115. The...
May 23, 2025

ECHA’s Redesigned C&L Inventory Is Available in ECHA CHEM

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...
May 8, 2025

ECHA Will Propose EU-Wide Restrictions on Certain Hexavalent Chromium Substances

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...
April 29, 2025

PFAS Updates: What’s Happening in the U.S. and EU, May 13, 2025, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT), via webinar

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...
March 21, 2025

HSE Publishes UK REACH Report (2023 to 2024) and Work Programme (2024 to 2025)

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced on March 21, 2025, that it has published the following annual report and work program on activities under the UK regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (UK REACH): The UK REACH Report provides a summary of achievements, including: Topic Deliverable Target Outcome Registration Complete the processing of all Article 26 inquiries and, within three weeks of receipt, all new UK...
March 7, 2025

ECHA Updates Annual Evaluation Statistics and Recommendations to Registrants on Improving Dossiers

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,...
January 27, 2025

ECHA Adds Five Chemicals to the Candidate List and Updates One Entry

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 Name Reason for Inclusion Examples of Uses 6-[(C10-C13)-alkyl-(branched, unsaturated)-2,5-dioxopyrrolidin-1-yl]hexanoic acid Toxic for reproduction (Article 57(c)) Lubricants, greases, release products, and metal working fluids O,O,O-triphenyl phosphorothioate Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT)...
December 23, 2024

ECHA Encourages Registrants to Update Dossiers for Substances Proposed for Evaluation in 2025

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 2026; and five substances for evaluation in 2027. ECHA proposes to...
November 20, 2024

ECHA and Five National Authorities Issue Progress Update on REACH Restriction

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...
November 1, 2024

RAC and SEAC Will Continue to Evaluate Proposed PFAS Restriction in 2025

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...
September 19, 2024

EC Adopts REACH Restriction for PFHxA and Related Substances

The European Commission (EC) announced on September 19, 2024, that it adopted new measures under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation to protect human health and the environment by restricting the use of undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and PFHxA ‑related substances. The EC states that these sub-groups of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “are very persistent and mobile in water, and their use in certain products poses an...
August 19, 2024

Registration is Now Open for “An Update on the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability,” September 18, 2024, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EDT)

The Acta Group (Acta®) is pleased to present “An Update on the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability,” a complimentary webinar that will review and update how the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability is fundamentally reshaping the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the Classification, Labeling, and Packaging (CLP) regulations in ways that are resetting the global stage for the regulation of chemicals. During this webinar, Meglena...
June 28, 2024

Defra Consults on Proposal to Amend UK REACH Use and Exposure Information Requirements

On May 16, 2024, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) began a public consultation on the UK government’s proposals to amend the current transitional provisions under UK REACH for submitting registration information to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Defra, following an in-depth analysis of the current UK REACH requirements and working with the HSE and the Environment Agency (EA), has devised an Alternative Transitional Registration model...
May 8, 2024

Stakeholders Can Express Interest until May 9, 2024, in RAC and SEAC June Meetings on PFAS

The May 2, 2024, ECHA Weekly includes an item on the June 3-6, 2024, meeting of the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) and June 4-7, 2024, meeting of ECHA’s Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC). ECHA states that the plenary meetings will address the following topics concerning the universal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances  (PFAS) restriction proposal: ECHA notes that additionally, RAC and SEAC will discuss pending issues from the previous...
April 25, 2024

Germany Posts Information on Dossier Submitter’s Ongoing Role in Proposed REACH Restriction for PFAS

On April 15, 2024, Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) REACH-CLP-Biozid Helpdesk published an item entitled “Dossier Submitter’s ongoing role in the PFAS restriction proposal.” While the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) evaluate the restriction proposal, the five national authorities that prepared the proposal (the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) are...
March 29, 2024

ECHA Checks More than 20 Percent of REACH Registration Dossiers for Compliance

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on February 27, 2024, that between 2009 and 2023, it performed compliance checks of approximately 15,000 Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registrations, representing 21 percent of full registrations. ECHA states that it met its legal target for dossier evaluation, which increased from five percent to 20 percent in 2019. ECHA notes that for substances registered at quantities of 100 metric tons or more per...
March 18, 2024

ECHA Clarifies Next Steps for PFAS Restriction Proposal

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) issued a press release on March 13, 2024, to outline how the Scientific Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) will progress in evaluating the proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Europe. As reported in our February 13, 2023, memorandum, the national authorities of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden submitted a proposal to restrict more than 10,000 PFAS under the...
February 23, 2024

ECHA Begins Public Consultation on Recommending Authorization for Five SVHCs and Adding a New Hazard to DBP

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on February 7, 2024, that it is considering recommending the following substances for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Authorization List: ECHA states that it is looking for further information on the uses of these substances in scope of authorization, their possible exemptions from the authorization requirement, and on the structure and complexity of the supply chains. ECHA encourages REACH...