ECHA Provides Information about SVHC Use in Consumer Articles

For the very first time, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published details on March 5, 2012 about the practical use of candidate list Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) in consumer articles. This information was extracted from SVHC notification dossiers and registrations for such substances that have recently been provided to the ECHA by the industry in compliance with new disclosure requirements.

The aim of the ECHA in publishing this information is to increase awareness of SVHC uses in the applications listed. The ECHA warns that not all articles similar to those listed will contain SVHC and vice versa that if an article is omitted from the list it may still contain an SVHC. It is hoped this list of SVHC applications may contribute to a better knowledge about existence of applications with hazardous substances.

The ECHA informs us that the majority of notifications received so far concern four phthalates: Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), and Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) in addition to Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), a brominated flame retardant. The phthalates are typically used as softeners for plastics notified as used in articles such as cables, bags, packaging material, waterproof garments and flooring materials made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The flame retardant HBCDD finds use in articles in the construction industry for thermal insulation panels for buildings as well as in packaging material such as polystyrene foam (XPS) and in electrical and electronic devices for plastic housings.

Between April and December 2011 only 203 notifications were received by the ECHA, which believes this low response is because the obligations are new to industry and some companies may still not be aware of their responsibilities under REACH Article 7 (2) to prepare notification dossiers and inform the ECHA. The ECHA advises all companies to check the notification requirements and their legal compliance obligations. Companies also need to remember that the scope of notification changes each time new substances are added to the SVHC candidate list. The latest revision added 20 new substances to the SVHC Candidate List in December 2011 and industry is obliged to notify uses of these by the deadline in June 2012 in case candidate list SVHC is contained with >0,1 % (w/w) in an article, preparation or substance and used with more than one tone per year for all such products of a legal entity based in the EU member states.

About SGS Services for REACH Obligations

The experts at the SGS Technical Competence Center have developed a robust and cost effective SVHC screening program for consumer goods to help you ensure you fulfill your REACH obligations. With a global network of laboratories and expertise, SGS offers cost effective SVHC solutions to assist clients with REACH obligations almost anywhere in the world.

For more information on REACH, please do not hesitate to contact SGS.

Contact details:

SGS Consumer Testing Services
Dr. Udo Krischke
Global Technical Manager RSTS
Im Maisel 14
65232 Taunusstein
Germany

t: +49 (0)6128 - 744 235
Email: cts.media@sgs.com
Website: http://www.sgs.com/pages/consumer-testing/sgs-consumer-goods-and-retail.aspx

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With 70'000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1'350 offices and laboratories around the world.