ECHA proposes adding 11 substances to REACH Authorization List.

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Last week, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that it is considering adding 11 substances to the Authorization List, also known as Annex XIV of REACH. The agency is soliciting comments on its draft recommendation, including “comments on the priority of the substances, their uses, possible exemptions from the authorisation requirement and on the proposed transitional arrangements.” In addition, the European Commission is separately accepting comments on the socioeconomic impact of the inclusion of these substances on the Authorization List.

The substances and their common uses, according to ECHA, are:

  • Dihexyl phthalate and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, dihexyl ester, branched and linear (plasticiser in PVC);
  • HHPA and MHHPA (hardener for epoxy resins);
  • Trixylyl phosphate (in lubricants, hydraulic fluids and plastics production);
  • Two boron compounds: sodium perborate; perboric acid, sodium salt and sodium peroxometaborate (in detergents and bleaching products);
  • Four lead compounds: orange lead (lead tetroxide); lead monoxide (lead oxide); tetralead trioxide sulphate and pentalead tetraoxide sulphate (batteries and rubber production, in adsorbents)

Comments will be accepted through February 17, 2016.

Under REACH, substances on the Authorization List are assigned a “sunset date,” after which the substance can only be placed on the market or used if a company has applied for and received an authorization for a specific use. ECHA regularly prioritizes substances from the “Candidate List” and makes recommendations for additions to the Authorization List, including use conditions, application deadlines, and sunset dates. The 11 substances are all proposed to have application deadlines of between 18 and 24 months, with recommended sunset dates 18 months after.

Last week’s recommendations are the agency’s seventh round of recommendations, and include four lead substances that were included in ECHA’s 2014 draft recommendations, but which were not part of the final recommendation submitted to the Commission in July 2015.

After considering public comments, the Member State Committee will prepare an opinion on the agency’s draft recommendation. ECHA will then develop its final recommendation and submit it to the European Commission, which will decide whether to include the substances on the Authorization List and on the conditions applicable for each substance.