From ECHA:

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published a list of the following 13 new Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) candidates. After preparing dossiers for each substance, the ECHA has now invited interested parties to a public consultation in which they can provide comments within a timeframe of 45 days (until 12 April 2012).

After consultation, a decision will be made as to whether the substances will be added to the ECHA Candidate List. Once on the Candidate List, producers, suppliers, importers and retailers must provide business clients directly, and consumers upon request, with information on the presence and safe use of any product containing the SVHC that exceeds 0.1% (w/w). In case the total amount of an SVHC exceeds 1 t per actor per year for all products, this SVHC also has to be notified to the ECHA.

We will keep you updated with any developments.

From ECHA:

For the first time, ECHA is publishing information on articles on the EU market that contain SVHCs included on the Candidate List. The data gathered is based on information provided by companies to ECHA in notification and registration dossiers.

The majority of notifications received so far relate to four phthalates that are on the Candidate List due to their toxicity to reproduction. These can typically be found in plastic articles. Examples of such notified articles are cables, bags, packaging material, waterproof garments and PVC flooring. The second most common notification is for the brominated flame retardant (HBCDD), which is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. This substance can be found in articles used by the construction and building sectors such as plastic panels for the thermal insulation of buildings. It has also been notified in polystyrene foam used for packaging and in the plastic housing of electronic appliances.

This does not mean that all articles of these types contain the substance, just that they may. Similarly, not finding an article in the list does not mean that it does not contain an SVHC.

ECHA is providing this information to add to the general increase in knowledge on the use and presence of hazardous substances in consumer articles. It is also to remind importers and producers of their legal obligations, under certain conditions, to notify when their articles contain substances on the Candidate List. Finally, consumers are reminded that they have the right to know when substances on the Candidate List are present in articles that they want to buy. They have the right to ask the retailer this and to receive an answer within 45 days.

From April to December 2011, the Agency received only 203 notifications. This is a new obligation for producers and importers of articles and many may yet be unaware of their responsibility to notify. Consequently, the information does not provide a full picture of substances of very high concern in articles on the EU market. Companies are therefore encouraged to check that they have implemented their legal obligations in this regard.

The deadline for producers and importers of articles to notify ECHA of the presence in articles of the 20 SVHCs that were included in the Candidate List in December 2011 is in June 2012.

The data is available on the ECHA website and is updated every six months.

For more information click here.

From physorg.com:

From: Bureau Veritas

On 26 January 2012, the European Commission published implementing Decision 2012/48/EU on the extension of the temporary ban on Dimethylfumarate (CAS 624-49-7) which will come into force on 15 March 2012. The limit is still set as 0.1 mg/kg which applies for each component part of the article. No transition period has been deemed necessary since a ban on DMFu already has existed since 2009.

DMFu is a biocide and has antifungal properties. It can be used to prevent mould growth and has been found to cause skin sensitizations (contact dermatitis) even at very low concentrations. As a result, several reports were published in the EU’s rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products (RAPEX). Therefore in 2009, the EU temporarily banned all types of consumer articles containing DMFu under Regulation 2009/251/EC.

Follow the links for more information.

From ECHA:

The graduate scheme has been established to respond to the high industry demand for REACH and CLP specialists and to assist young graduates to find employment as regulatory scientists and professionals in the field of chemical regulations.

To achieve its objectives, ECHA recruits chemists, toxicologists, ecotoxicologists, biocides and risk assessment experts as well as REACH and CLP regulatory affairs specialists. The new graduate scheme, which has been developed together with the European Commission, aims to improve the pool of suitable staff available for working at ECHA, as well as helping young graduates find employment as regulatory scientists and regulatory professionals in the field of chemicals.

An essential element of the graduate scheme is an information resource on ECHA’s website of academic courses that are relevant to working in this area of expertise. This information will enable graduates to plan their careers and source training and professional development possibilities as regulatory affairs professionals dealing with REACH and CLP. In addition, ECHA provides background material on the type of work that regulatory scientists at ECHA are engaged in and the qualifications and professional experience generally required to work in this field.

Furthermore, the existing ECHA traineeship scheme is being promoted to encourage uptake by graduates who wish to gain relevant experience with a view to a career in regulatory science. As a concrete, practical measure, the number of ECHA traineeship posts will be doubled with effect from 2012. Geert Dancet, Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency said: “I am very pleased to be able to announce that the number of ECHA traineeship posts will be doubled from 2012 and we want to encourage graduates who wish to gain relevant experience and become trainees at ECHA to apply“.

The scheme is presented on 11 November 2011 at the ”Education and Skills for Business Competitiveness” conference in Rome organised by Confidustria, the Italian Industry Confederation and the European Commission. Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission and responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, who announced the training scheme, together with Geert Dancet, said: “Amid times of crisis, the ECHA scheme is specifically developed to support a growing demand for specialists in the chemicals sector. We believe that this is the best way to support young professionals to build the experience and the knowledge they need to succeed in the job market.”

For more information click the link above.

From ECHA:

The Board of Appeal of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has today published its first two final decisions on appeals against decisions adopted by ECHA under the REACH Regulation .

In both cases, the appellants had paid the fee required for the registration of a substance, after the expiry of the deadlines set by the Agency. According to the REACH Regulation and the associated Fee Regulation, non-payment of the registration fee by the set deadline will result in the registration being rejected with any late fee not being refunded.

While both cases dealt with the late payment of the registration fee, the particular circumstances of the cases are different. The Board of Appeal decided in favour of the appellant in one case and in favour of ECHA in the other.

In case A-001-2010, the appellant sought the refund of the registration fee which had been paid after the set deadline. In this case, the Board of Appeal found in favour of the appellant and ordered ECHA to refund both the registration fee and the appeal fee. The Board of Appeal held that although the legislation sets out the consequences of failure to pay the registration fee on time, in this instance there were shortcomings in ECHA’s handling of the case. Taking into account all of the circumstances of this specific case, the Board of Appeal found that ECHA had not fulfilled all the requirements of good administration, particularly in regard to the requirement for clarity of the information it provided to the appellant.

In case A-004-2011, the appellant requested the Board of Appeal to annul the decision rejecting the registration. The appellant considered the rejection of its registration for late payment of the registration fee to be disproportionate. In this case, however, the Board of Appeal decided in favour of ECHA and confirmed that the Agency had acted correctly in rejecting the registration. In reaching its decision, the Board of Appeal found that there was nothing in the specific facts of the case to suggest that ECHA should not have applied the provisions of the above mentioned legislation. Consequently, ECHA had no alternative but to reject the substance registration dossier in question.

The full texts of the decisions are published on the Board of Appeal’s web page at: http://echa.europa.eu/appeals/app_decisions_en.asp.

For more information click the links above.

From the ECHA:

The MSC could not find unanimous agreement based on scientific and technical arguments on a draft decision for a testing proposal. For the first time, the procedure foreseen in Article 51(7) of the REACH Regulation will therefore be used, requiring the referral of the case to the Commission for decision making involving the Commission REACH Committee.

For the full new story please see the link above.

From ECHA:

The European Chemicals Agency together with the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), Eurometaux, CONCAWE (the oil companies’ European association), the European Association of Chemical Distributors (FECC) and the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (AISE) on behalf of the Downstream Users of  Chemicals Coordination Group (DUCC) have established a cross-sector collaborative network to share knowledge, techniques and approaches to building and applying (REACH) exposure scenarios. The first meeting will be held in Brussels, on November 24 and 25, 2011.  Sectors of industry, NGOs, Member State authorities and other stakeholders will be invited to participate.

ENES will share the approaches and practical experience of industry and other stakeholders from the first REACH registration deadline, the areas that are working well and the areas where improvements are needed.

The Exchange Network of Exposure Scenarios is among the activities that ECHA is rolling out to support companies for the second registration deadline in 2013. Practical solutions for preparing and communicating ESs identified by the first Network meeting will be published in the beginning of 2012 by the Agency.

For more information see the link above.

From ECHA:

ECHA launches the ‘REACH 2013 – Act Now!’ campaign at the REACH Conference on 23 September to remind the industry to start preparing for the second REACH registration deadline. Companies manufacturing or importing chemicals in quantities at or above 100 tonnes per year are required to register these substances with ECHA by 31 May 2013.

On ECHA’s website, there is a dedicated webpage on which there is an agenda for the events that ECHA is rolling out in relation to the REACH 2013 deadline. All relevant materials and links can also be found there. In addition, ECHA has designed a promotional web banner that Member States, industry associations and other organisations can add to their REACH web pages…

Visit the ECHA website for more information on REACH and the Act Now! Campaign.

From The Manufacturer:

EEF has launched a unique package of guidance to help manufacturers struggling to understand and comply with the new EU Regulations on use of hazardous chemicals.

REACH is EU regulation that restricts the use of hazardous chemicals and is aimed at protecting human health and the environment. Many manufacturers will be affected by REACH, even if they do not use the substances directly as they may assemble or sell products that contain hazardous substances. REACH is expected to affect around 30,000 substances on the EU market. Under the Regulations companies can find themselves at risk if they do not know about these products (as their ability to buy these products may be affected if they are taken off the European market) or they have an obligation to inform their customers of the presence of these substances.

To help companies understand and meet their obligations EEF has launched a special micro site which contains guidance for both manufacturers and downstream users, as well as an up to date listing of the substances covered. EEF is also offering companies the opportunity to sign up to e-alerts that will keep them informed with the most up to date REACH information, such as latest changes or additions to Candidate Lists of Intended Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs), which can affect your business continuity.

The micro-site can be found at www.eef.org.uk/reach, where companies can download the guidance document, sign up to the e-alert system or seek consultancy advice.

Additional information can be found at the link above.