European Chemicals Agency Proposes 8 New Chemicals as REACH Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs)

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), located in Helsinki, Finland, has published new proposals to classify eight chemicals as substances of very high concern (SVHC). These substances now are listed on the candidate list, which is the first step toward possible inclusion on Annex XIV of REACH, which is the Authorization list. Substances making it to the Authorization Annex will be banned unless the manufacturer or importer applies for authorization, which if accepted would allow them to keep certain essential uses on the market for a short period of time while alternatives are being developed.

Commenting on the proposals for the eight substances is open until April 22, 2010.

All eight of the substances are listed because they meet the criteria for being CMRs, that is, substances that are carcinogenic (C), mutagenic (M), and/or reproductive toxins (R). The eight chemicals are:

Ammonium dichromate (Category II for C, M and R)

Anyhdrous disodium tetraborate (Category II for R)

Boric acid (Category II for R)

Potassium chromate (Category II for C and M)

Potassium dichromate (Category II for C, M and R)

Sodium chromate (Category II for C, M and R)

Tetraboron disodium heptaoxide hydrate (Category II for R)

Trichloroethylene (Category II for C)

Proposals are introduced to ECHA by member states, and the above were offered by Denmark, France and Germany. The candidate list for Authorization already has 29 substances, to which these 8 could be added pending the results of the commenting period. The last list had 15 substances on it, but one was removed after being the subject of a lawsuit that successfully challenged the applicability of the Authorization process for intermediates.