REACH Candidate List Tracking

During a teleconference recently organized by the American National Standards Institute's and National Association of Manufacturers' Network on Chemical Regulation, industry representatives were encouraged to stay vigilant about tracking the candidate list of chemicals that could be banned under REACH. According to Herb Estreicher, an attorney with Keller and Heckman, the list of chemicals that the European Chemicals Agency is preparing that European Union member states say are of such high concern are likely to be included in Annex XIV of REACH. The annex lists chemicals that are banned unless specific uses are authorized by the Commission.

While there is no candidate list yet, EU member states have nominated 16 chemicals for inclusion on that list. Efforts are already under way in the EU and in some of its member states to restrict the uses or ban these 16 chemicals.

Producers, importers and other suppliers of articles in the EU that contain substances named on the candidate list in concentrations above 0.1% must provide information to companies that purchase those products, according to ECHA. In addition, under Article 33 of REACH, "information available to the article supplier necessary to ensure safe use of an article has to be provided also to consumers within 45 days of the request, free of charge."

Article 7.2 of REACH requires manufacturers to notify ECHA as of June 1, 2011, if they make a product that contains a chemical on the candidate list, if that chemical substance is present in a volume greater than 1 metric ton and if the substance is in their products at a concentration greater than 0.1%. Notification is not required, however, if the use of the chemical in a particular product was included in the registration dossier for that chemical.

Most substances that will be on the candidate list are likely to be among those high-volume and high-potential-concern chemicals that must be registered by November 30, 2010.

One of the participants on the call asked how to know when a product is an article and Dr. Estreicher indicated that the ECHA guidance provides many answers, but a few "borderline" cases remain. For example, ECHA has not yet determined whether a candle is an article or a mixture of chemicals known under REACH as a preparation. IF ECHA decides that candles are preparations then each chemical used to make the candles must be registered. (Source: FEMA, FMA)

More in Regulatory & Research