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 The Euorpean Chemicals Agency:

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.

We will keep you updated with any future developments.

From: ECHA

The seven new substances identified as SVHCs are: 2-ethoxyethylacetate, strontium chromate, 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, di-C7-11 branched and linear alkyl esters (DHNUP), hydrazine, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, di-C6-8-branched alkyl esters, C7-rich (DIHP). These substances are either carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) substances. DHNUP and DIHP will complement the Candidate List with two additional phthalates.

In addition, as a result of the procedure for identification as SVHC a new identification basis (toxic for reproduction) will be added for cobaltdichloride that is already on the Candidate List because of its carcinogenic hazards.

The Candidate List will be updated soon as the seven new substances and the “toxic for reproduction” will be added as the basis for identification as an SVHC for cobaltdichloride .

Follow the above link for access to the draft agenda of the 18th Memeber State Committee meeting or the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for authorisation.

We will keep you updated on any additional changes to the Candidate List.

From : ECHA

Six substances of very high concern will be banned within the next three to five years unless an authorisation has been granted to individual companies for their use. These substances are carcinogenic, toxic for reproduction or persist in the environment and accumulate in living organisms. Operators wishing to sell or use these substances will need to demonstrate that the required safety measures have been taken to adequately control the risks, or that the benefits for the economy and society outweigh the risks. Where feasible alternative substances or techniques exist, a timetable for substitution will also have to be submitted.

Six substances of very high concern have today been moved from the candidate list to the authorisation list, known as Annex XIV, under the EU’s REACH regulation. Substances in Annex XIV cannot be placed on the market or used unless authorisation has been granted for a specific use.

The following 6 chemicals are the first entrants in the Annex XIV: 5-ter-butyl-2,4,6-trinito-m-xylene (musk xylene), 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (MDA), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), bis(2-ethylexyl) phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).

For more information on this regulation, click the above link.

From: Suite101

New regulations on use of six types of phthalates in childrens products were announced by the Honorable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health and Pierre Polievre, Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton.

Research has shown that exposure to phthalates at an early age may impact reproduction and development. Health Canada is advising parents and caregivers to watch for any soft plastic toys their child may be playing with and to remove them if the child is observed sucking or chewing on them. Products intended for the mouth will most likely not contain phthalates due to the voluntary decision in 1998, but products not intended for the mouth, such as plastic bibs or toys, may contain phthalates.

Concentrations of di 2-ethylhexl phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (DINP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) are not allowed to exceed more than 1000 mg/kg or 0.1 per cent in products that may enter the mouths of children under four years of age, reports Global News. This ban includes all products that can reasonably be foreseeable to enter the infant or child’s mouth.

Click on the links for more information.

From: Bureau Veritas Group

A new regulation establishing phthalate restrictions in vinyl components of childcare articles and toys has been enacted by the Canadian Government. Limits have been established for specific phthalates in products for certain ages of children. The requirements of this regulation go into effect six months after December 10, 2010.

This regulation applies to toys and childcare articles. It sets out limits, as well as provides definitions on terms used in the regulations.

Click on the above links for the key points of this regulation or for links directly to the regulations.

From: Change.org

The Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health is hosting a hearing entitled, “Toxic Chemicals and Children’s Enviornmental Health.” In addition to statements by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and CNN Chief Medical Correspondant Dr. Sanjay Gupta, they will also hear from Steven Marcus, a Professor of Preventative Medicine and Community Health at the New Jersey Medical School and Frederica Perara, Director of Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health.

Perara has conducted two studies that follow mothers and their children from pregnancy into childhood. Monitoring air quality and chemical exposure of women in New York, the research team found that in the Northern Manahattan cohort, phthalates, used to make plastics more flexible, were detected in 85-100 percent of air and urine samples from pregnant women. BPA, an endocrine disruptor, was found in the urine of 94 percent of pregnant women, 97 percent of 3 year olds and 100 percent of 5 year olds.

The four chemicals at the focus of her work are widely used. Phthalates are used to soften plastics and used in hairspray and perfume; BPA is used in everything from baby bottles and water bottles to receipts and canned food linings; PBDEs are a group of flame retardant chemicals applied to home furnishings, textiles and many other products. Chlorpyrifos is an organophoshate insecticide that has was phased out in home use in 2001, but is still used in agriculture.

Click on the links for more information.

From: WECF

Some large European retailers such as Carrefour, Tesco and Media Markt-Saturn are not adequately protecting citizens from harmful chemicals in everyday products by failing to provide basic information they are legally obliged to under EU law. Many of these products were found to contain chemicals listed as substances of very high concern (SVHC), which are recognised to be toxic for reproduction.

REACH, which stands for Registration Evaluation Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals, is an EU wide legislation that is meant to ensure the phase out of potentially damaging chemicals. It also sets out transparency requirements to give shoppers the right to know about whether a SVHC listed on a ‘candidate list’ (a list of chemicals to be phased on in the future) are in products they might choose to buy.

However, the EEB reveals today in their report ‘The Fight to Know?’ that half of the 158 information requests sent to European retailers between April-August 2010 received no response….The legal department of Media Markt-Saturn, electronics providers with over 800 shops across Europe, simply declared that they were of the opinion that they did not have to provide such information. Bart Smits (Netherlands) refused to provide information to “third parties”, clearly breaching the “right to know”. C and A Belgium merely replied to one request via email with “?”.

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: REACH compliance, EU SDS authoring, SDS authoring

From: Emirates Week

AsiaInspection, a leading provider of quality control services for the manufacturing industry in Asia, today announces the results of a survey of laboratory tests of toys manufactured in China and ready for shipment to Europe and the United States. The results show 25% of the survey sample contained dangerous levels of phthalates, a group of chemicals found in plastics and which has been placed under stringent regulations in Europe and North America.

Over the last two months, AsiaInspection randomly selected 35 China-made plastic toys destined for Europe and USA and standard phthalates content tests were conducted. Approximately 25% of these toys were found to contain dangerously high levels of phthalates, and consequently they did not conform to EU and USA chemical content regulations. Among the survey sample, a toy first aid kit was found to contain more than 130 times the allowable limit of DEHP, a regulated phthalate.

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: REACH compliance, EU SDS authoring, SDS authoring

From BusinessGreen.com:

The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) delivered an unwelcome Christmas gift to the chemical industry over the holiday period, making two decisions that were welcomed by environmentalists but which have angered industry groups. The watchdog announced tough new measures to regulate the use of four chemical groups, and also listed the chemicals industry as one of three sectors that will face more demanding environmental clean-up regulations.

The four chemicals for which the EPA released action plans on December 30, are phthalates, short grain chlorinated paraffins, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and perfluorinated chemicals. It said that it is also developing action plans for Benzidine dyes and pigments, and Bisphenol A. The move will place pressure on manufacturers that use the substances to limit their use and find alternatives where possible.

The American Chemistry Council reacted angrily to the introduction of the four action plans, suggesting that it was based more on the chemicals’ high profile in the media, rather than on scientific analysis.

The EPA’s other significant move, announced on the same day, saw it begin to develop regulations to guarantee that the owners of chemical plants can afford to pay for their own environmental clean-up. The move comes at a critical time politically for the EPA, as emissions reporting standards introduced by the Agency in September come into effect for the first time. From January 1, around 10,000 facilities were required to begin gathering greenhouse gas emissions information, which they will have to report to the EPA next year.

Click on the links for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring