Archives

March 23, 2023

Public Consultation Begins on PFAS Restriction Proposal; ECHA Will Hold Information Session on April 5

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on March 22, 2023, the beginning of a six-month consultation on the proposal to restrict more than 10,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. As reported in our February 13, 2023, memorandum, the national authorities of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden submitted the proposal after finding risks in the manufacture, placement...
March 14, 2023

ECHA Enforcement Forum Project Finds Most Downstream Users Adhere to “Fundamental” Authorization Duties

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on March 8, 2023, the results of the Enforcement Forum’s European Union (EU)-wide project on inspections of Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) authorization duties. During the project, the enforcement authorities of 28 countries carried out 690 inspections at 516 companies. According to ECHA, the most commonly controlled substances of very high concern (SVHC) were chromium trioxide and strontium chromate....
March 1, 2023

ECHA Updates Recommendations to Improve REACH Registrations

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...
February 8, 2023

ECHA Announces Changes to Completeness Checks

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 and updates to...
January 26, 2023

Recording Available For “Two Years Later: How Has the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Changed REACH and CLP Regulations?”

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...
January 17, 2023

ECHA Receives “One of the Broadest” Proposals to Restrict PFAS under REACH

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on January 13, 2023, that the national authorities of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have submitted a proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. ECHA will publish the detailed proposal, “one of the broadest in the [European Union’s (EU)] history,” on February 7, 2023. According to ECHA, the national...
December 16, 2022

Register Now — Webinar: “Two Years Later: How Has the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Changed REACH and CLP Regulations?”

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...
November 16, 2022

ECHA Announces EU-Wide REACH Enforcement Project Will Focus on Imported Products

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 cooperation between REACH...
October 14, 2022

ECHA Announces Receipt of Restriction Proposals for Bisphenols and Creosote

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...
September 8, 2022

ECHA Proposes to Identify Nine Substances as SVHCs

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: The substances are not registered under the Registration,...