The European Chemicals Agency has included four more substances on its REACH candidate list of Substances of Very High Concerns (SVHCs), which now contains 205 chemicals. The list comprises of substances that may have serious effects on human health or the environment and which are candidates for eventual inclusion in the Authorization list (Annex XIV).
The substances included in the Candidate List for authorisation on 16 January 2020 are:
• Diisohexyl phthalate (CAS 71850-09-4) – added due to its toxicity to reproduction
• 2-benzyl-2-dimethylamino-4'-morpholinobutyrophenone (CAS 119313-12-1) – added due to its toxicity to reproduction
• 2-methyl-1-(4-methylthiophenyl)-2-morpholinopropan-1-one (CAS 71868-10-5) – added due to its toxicity to reproduction)
• Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and its salts – added as it causes probable serious effects to human health and the environment
News
Collected news links from external sources related to topics concerning the Book Chain Project.
ECHA adds four substances to REACH candidate list
App to detect SVHCs in articles launched across EU
An app is being launched across the EU that allows consumers to scan products for substances of very high concern (SVHCs). The app – Check Chemistry – has been developed as part of the pan-European AskREACH project. Consumers will be able to use their mobile phones to scan a product’s barcode and gain access to this information.
Chinese Govt releases regulation on guaranteeing wages for migrant workers
Premier Li Keqiang has signed a State Council decree to publish a regulation on guaranteeing payments of wages to rural migrant workers. The regulation requires market entities should take the lead under the supervision of government and society including labour unions, social medias etc. It states employers must pay employment wage in full and on time through bank transfers or cash. It also clarifies the responsibilities of employers for paying off arrears to migrant workers and corresponding legal account abilities for any breach of the regulation. This regulation will go into effect on 1st of May, 2020.
Latest UN Emissions Gap Report finds world must ramp up climate ambitions at least threefold to meet Paris goals
The Emissions Gap Report 2019 finds that total greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 1.5 percent per year over the past decade, and that even if all current commitments made under the Paris Agreement were implemented, global temperatures would rise by 3.2°C. Countries would have to ratchet up their emissions reductions commitments threefold to meet the 2°C target by 2030.To reach the 1.5°C target, it would require a five-fold increase in countries’ emissions reduction commitments.
Mapping the chemical universe: List of substances by regulatory action published
The European Chemicals Agency, ECHA, has published a list of over 21,000 REACH-registered substances mapped in its 'chemical universe'. The substances have been divided into five pools based on the regulatory actions in place, initiated or considered for them. It also highlights that there are still thousands of substances for which possible actions have not yet been determined. The chemical universe does not indicate whether a substance’s use is safe or not – it is mainly to help authorities focus their actions. The assignment to a pool is also not permanent – substances will move from one pool to another over time when new information becomes available or priorities change.
Governments agree landmark decisions to protect people and planet from hazardous chemicals and waste, including plastic waste
Around 180 countries agreed to amend the Basel Convention at a meeting on 10th May 2019. The amendment means that plastic waste is now included within the legally-binding framework which will make global trade in plastic waste more transparent and better regulated, whilst also ensuring that it’s management is safer for human health and the environment.
Other far-reaching decisions included the elimination of two toxic chemical groups, which together total about 4,000 chemicals, listed into Annex A of the Stockholm Convention, namely Dicofol and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and its salts and PFOA-related compounds.
Nordic inspections find phthalate, SCCPs in give-away items
A joint enforcement project undertaken by the Nordic countries has found hazardous substances in over one-fifth of free promotional items tested. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, inspectors found restricted substances above the limit mostly in soft plastic gadgets – due to the presence of softeners, like DEHP and SCCPs – as well as in toys, and electrical and electronic products.
The detected items contained either restricted substances in concentrations exceeding limit values or those on the REACH candidate list of SVHCs in concentrations over 0.1%. A final report of the joint enforcement project will be published this month (May 2019).
Six new substances added to the Candidate List
ECHA has added six new substances to the Candidate List. All have properties that are either carcinogenic, toxic to reproduction, persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBT), endocrine disrupting, or are very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB). The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs)forauthorisation now lists 197 substances.
The six new substances are:
• Pyrene, Phenanthrene and Fluoranthene are PAHs restricted in Germany under the GS mark, but not currently restricted under REACH ANNEX XVII with other PAHs;
• Benzo[k]fluoranthene is a PAH restricted under both the GS mark in Germany and REACH ANNEX XVII with other PAHs;
• 2,2-bis(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-4-;methylpentane
• 1,7,7-trimethyl-3-(.phenylmethylene)bicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one
Forecast for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy 2019
A set of predictions on key global chemical regulatory policy, including Asia & Australia, EU and Brexit, and Mexico, Central and South America and the Middle East. China introduced new or updated regulations in 2018, including the List of Priority Control Chemicals (First Batch), the List of Toxic Chemicals Strictly Restricted (2018), and National Guidance on Hazard Classification to the Aquatic Environment. Taiwan passed the amended Toxic Chemical Substance Control Act (TCSCA) on December 21, 2018. In South Korea, the amended Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (K-REACH) came into force on 1 January 2019.
- Chemicals & Materials
- The National Law Review
- Europe
- South East Asia & Indian Continent
- Australia
- China
- Korea (Democratic People's Republic)
- Mexico
- Taiwan
- Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals
- National Guidance on Hazard Classification to the Aquatic Environment
- Priority Control Chemicals
- Toxic Chemical Substance Control Act
- Toxic Chemicals Strictly Restricted
Member states back EU phthalates restriction proposal
EU member approved the proposal to restrict the phthalates DEHP, DBP, DIBP and BBP in articles. The four phthalates are on the REACH candidate list of SVHCs for their reprotoxic as well as endocrine disrupting properties. Under the proposal they would be restricted to a concentration equal to or below 0.1% by weight individually or in any combination in any plasticised material in articles used by consumers or those used in indoor areas. The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers now have three months to scrutinise the measure and the restriction will then be published in the EU’s Official Journal and will apply 18 months after the entry into force to products produced both in and outside of the EU.
Apple: Human Rights Violations in Supply Chain Double in a Year, Report Reveals
Labor and human rights violations in Apple’s global supply chain have doubled in the span of a year, a new report has revealed. The company’s Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, released on Wednesday, detailed several “core violations” that were discovered following an audit of the working conditions of its supply chain employees across 30 countries. Apple trained more than 3 million supplier employees on their rights last year and tracked the working hours of 1.3 million people on a weekly basis.
Abuses included labor violations, the falsification of working hours, harassment and underage staff. Apple conducted 756 audits in total and its report detailed some of the violations that were considered to be “serious breaches of compliance.”
BPA recognised as an endocrine disruptor
EU experts have agreed to designate bisphenol A (BPA) as a human endocrine disruptor on top of its current repro-toxic classification, paving the way for an EU phase-out of the chemical. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that its member state committee voted unanimously to classify the compound, used in polycarbonate plastics, inks and resins, a substance of very high concern (SVHC) under the EU REACH Regulation due to its endocrine-disrupting properties.
REACH revolution at a crossroads
Over the last decade, an unprecedented amount of information about chemical hazards and exposure has been collected and stored in the databases of Echa. Echa has been taking research on the substances could be confidently categorised as high priority substances with likely hazards and likely exposure during use. But there are still 3,000 substances in what the agency describes as a ‘grey zone’ where it has insufficient information to make a determination about the risks they pose.
Safety commission drafts list of substances restricted in consumer products
China’s National Consumer Product Safety Commission has recently consulted on a draft list of substance restrictions in consumer products. The list combines a number of existing Chinese standards and, where no domestic standard exists, it refers to restrictions based on EU and other foreign legislation. The draft is similar to the consumer restrictions set out in REACH Annex XVII - includes 103 chemicals and proposes limit values for their use in consumer products, such as toys, textiles, coatings, paints, decoration materials and furniture.
New version of Qsar Toolbox launched
The OECD has launched version four of its Qsar Toolbox, with some features designed specifically for companies looking to register substances under REACH ahead of the 2018 deadline. Echa head Geert Dancet used the agency's stakeholders day to remind companies planning to register substances under next year's deadline that they must pre-register their substances by 31 May this year.
EU poised to expand REACH authorisation list
Another seven toxic substances may be added to the REACH chemicals regime authorisation list under plans drawn up by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Consultation on the list, which heralds a significant expansion of annex XIV to REACH, began on 2 March. These seven substances are karanal, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, four related phenolic benzotriazoles (UV-328, UV-327, UV-350 and UV-320) and a family of phthalic acid esters which could be used in adhesives. ECHA is seeking comment on the substances’ uses, proposed transitional arrangements, possible exemptions from authorisation and information on supply chains until 2 June. A final decision on the proposals will be taken by the European Commission.
decaBDE - REACH restriction
The European Commission has published Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/227 amending Annex XVII to REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. The Regulation introduces a new restriction on the use of the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) under entry 67 of Annex XVII of REACH. This Regulation shall be effective from 02 March 2017, and the condition of the restrictions for this substance shall be accomplished by 02 March 2019. Please click here to learn more about the condition of restriction listed under entry 67 of Annex XVII of REACH.
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) completes toolkit for REACH 2018 registration
The last REACH registration deadline will be on 31 May 2018. This deadline concerns companies that manufacture or import chemical substances in low volumes, between 1-100 tonnes per year. Practical advice on the different steps companies need to take to complete their registration is available on ECHA's website. ECHA has completed the toolkit to support companies for the 2018 registration deadline. All companies are encouraged to follow the step-by-step advice and speed up their preparations.
Haze from Indonesian fires may have killed more than 100,000 people – study
Researchers from Harvard and Columbia universities in the US estimated there were more than 90,000 early deaths in Indonesia in areas closest to haze-belching fires, and several thousand more in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. The new estimate, reached using a complex analytical model by combining satellite data with models of health impacts from smoke exposure and readings from pollution monitoring stations, is far higher than the previous official death toll given by authorities of just 19 deaths in Indonesia. It triggered calls for action to tackle the “killer haze”.
Endangered Forests in the Balance : the impact of logging reaches new heights in the Montagnes Blanches endangered Forest
The Montagnes Blanches endangered forest has become a focus area for conservation organisations due to threats on its unique features by illegal logging. According to satellite data provided from 2000-2013, almost 50% of the intact forest landscape has been lost or degraded. Furthermore the species, woodland cari-bou within this forest is now being identified as threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk 2.