From the ECHA:

In the framework of the authorisation process, Member States Competent Authorities or the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), on a request by the Commission, may prepare Annex XV dossiers for the identification of substances of very high concern (SVHC).

Substances of very high concern are defined in Article 57 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (“the REACH Regulation”) and include substances which are:

• Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or toxic to Reproduction (CMR), meeting the criteria for classification in category 1 or 2 in accordance with Directive 67/548/EEC,
• Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) or very Persistent and very Bioaccumulative (vPvB) according to the criteria in Annex XIII of the REACH Regulation, and/or
• Identified, on a case-by-case basis, from scientific evidence as causing probable serious effects to human health or the environment of an equivalent level of concern as those above (e.g. endocrine disrupters)

The Annex XV report prepared by a Member State or the Agency is available in the table below in order to inform interested parties. The interested parties have 45 days from this publication to give scientific comments on the identification of the substance as SVHC as well as further information related to exposures, alternatives substances and risks and send their comments to the Agency. It would facilitate the evaluation process of comments to receive them in English.

The 16 substances are as follows:

1. Anthracene ( CAS No. 120-12-7 )
2. 4,4′- Diaminodiphenylmethane ( CAS No. 101-77-9 )
3. Dibutyl phthalate (CAS No. 84-74-2 )
4. Cyclododecane ( CAS No. 294-62-2 )
5. Cobalt dichloride ( CAS No. 7546-79-9 )
6. Diarsenic pentaoxide ( CAS No. 1303-28-2 )
7. Diarsenic trioxide ( CAS No. 1327-53-3 )
8. Sodium dichromate, dihydrate ( CAS No. 7789-12-0 )
9. 5-tert-butyl-2,4,6-trinitro-m-xylene (musk xylene) ( CAS No. 81-15-2 )
10. Bis (2-ethyl(hexyl)phthalate) (DEHP) ( CAS No. 117-81-7 )
11. Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) ( CAS No. 25637-99-4 )
12. Alkanes, C10-13, chloro (Short Chain Chlorinated Paraffins) ( CAS No. 85535-84-8 )
13. Bis(tributyltin)oxide ( CAS No. 56-35-9 )
14. Lead hydrogen arsenate ( CAS No. 7784-40-9 )
15. Triethyl arsenate ( CAS No. 15606-95-8 )
16. Benzyl butyl phthalate ( CAS No. 85-68-7 )

Click on the above link for the full release.

Electronics Supply and Manufacturing on new regulations from Norway. The full article is an absolute must-read for anyone doing business in Norway; here are the hilights:

There are six hazardous substances that the electronics industry has been struggling to phase-out for a couple of years now: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, and the flame retardants polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). This is per the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, which restricted the use of the substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) to certain maximum concentration values (MCV) in homogeneous material (0.01 % by weight for cadmium and 0.1% by weight for the other five substances).

Other jurisdictions followed or are following the European Community’s example, e.g. California (except for the flame retardants), Korea and China. Most recently, Norway created a proposal for new regulations restricting the use of not less than 18 substances in consumer goods…

Within the 18 restricted substances only two — lead and cadmium — are restricted under the EU RoHS directive. The 18 substances include:

• Brominated flame retardants : hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)
• Chlorinated paraffins
• Arsenic (and arsenic compounds)
• Lead (and lead compounds)
• Cadmium (and cadmium compounds)
• Organic tin compounds: tributyltin compounds (TBT) and triphenyltin compounds
• Fragrance substances: musk ketone and musk xylene
• Perfluorinated compounds
• Surfactants: DTDMAC, DODMAC/DSDMAC and DHTDMAC
• Bisphenol
• Diethylhexylphtalate (DEHP)
• Pentachlorphenol
• Triclosan

More information is availabel in the full article.

Here’s a snippet from NDP seeking new law for toxic chemical labels on household products from today’s London Free Press (in London, Ontario, Canada where Nexreg is headquartered):

Toxic chemicals are in many everyday products, from household cleaners and laundry detergents to hair dyes and cosmetics, said NDP environment critic Peter Tabuns, who is pushing for a new law that would compel manufacturers to disclose dangerous ingredients in their products.

Consumers would demand changes if labels told them exactly what a product contains, Tabuns said.

“Right now, most people don’t know whether or not products that they buy have cancer-causing agents in them.”

Tabuns hopes to convince Ontario to follow the example of California, where community right-to-know legislation has helped get arsenic out of bottled water and lead removed from some candies. Manufacturers there opted to find alternatives rather than list carcinogens on their labels, he said.

“They are not going to want to have that label on their products. They know that consumers, especially parents, don’t want to subject themselves to exposure.”

We suspect this proposal is not going anywhere - the Liberal Party holds a majority in the Ontario legislature with 69 of 103 seats. The NDP, who are proposing this bill, are the third place party with only 10 seats (the Progressive Conservative Party holds the remaining 24). However, we will be following this proposal very closely since most consumer chemical companies operating in North America sell in the Ontario market of nearly 13 million people.

Health Canada has a number of warnings for consumers which they’ve released recently:

Zhuifeng Tougu Wan - Traditional Chinese medicine (intended use unknown) that contains toxic levels of mercury.

Fufang LuHui Jiaonang - Traditional Chinese medicine (intended use unknown) that contains toxic levels of mercury.

Safi - Marketed as a blood purifier, but may also be marketed to treat skin conditions such as acne, boils, rashes, blemishes and hives. Contains toxic levels of arsenic.

Baike Wan - Marketed as an herbal product for relief of muscle and joint pain, but contains the prescription drugs piroxicam and frusemide, and the over-the-counter drug chlorpheniramine

Xin Yan Zi Pai Mei Zi Jiao Nang - Fat Rapid Loss Capsules are marketed as a weight loss product. The capsules are dark blue in colour and contained in silver and blue blister packs.

For more information: Health Canada.