Chemicals & Plastics

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has performed compliance checks of approximately 15000 registrations between 2009 and 2023, representing 21 % of full registrations. It is a significant increase compared with 5% in 2019. At the same time, ECHA has also conducted compliance checks on 30% of high-tonnage registered substances (annual production of more than 100 tons). In 2023, 301 compliance reviews were conducted on more than 1750 REACH registration dossiers involving 274 substances, aiming to supplement potentially missing information to improve the safety of these chemical substances. Thus far, ECHA has made more than 251 data supplement requests to a number of companies.

On February 22, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory for the first half of 2024. The updated TSCA Inventory contains a total of 86,741 chemical substances, of which 42,293 are active. The latest update adds 23 new chemicals compared to the August 2023 Inventory. The TSCA Inventory is updated biannually to keep chemical information current and accurate.

On Feb 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule on revising the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) fee. The revised fees will be effective 60 days after the 2024 final rule is published in the Federal Register.

On Feb 9, 2024, the European Commission proposed a new draft aimed at amending the existing regulations on food contact materials (FCMs), involving a ban on bisphenol A (BPA) and its derivatives. The draft amends (EU) No 10/2011 and (EC) No 1895/2005, and repeals (EU) 2018/213. Bisphenol A (BPA), known as 4,4′-dihydroxydiphenylpropane (CAS No: 80-05-7), is a monomer or starting substance widely used in the manufacture of polycarbonate, polysulfone, epoxy resins, and other resins. It is extensively used in plastics, varnish coatings, inks, adhesives, and rubbers.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is considering recommending five substances for the REACH Authorisation List. These five substances cover: Melamine; Bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate covering any of the individual isomers and/or combinations thereof (TBPH); S-(tricyclo[5.2.1.0 2,6]deca-3-en-8(or 9)-yl) O-(isopropyl or isobutyl or 2-ethylhexyl) O-(isopropyl or isobutyl or 2-ethylhexyl) phosphorodithioate; Diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide; and Barium diboron tetraoxide.

HSE, the GB CLP Agency, is proposing to update the status of 90 substances in GB mandatory classification and labeling (GB MCL). It is scheduled to be effective in April 2024. These 90 substances are from the 14th and 15th ATP (Adaptation to Technical Progress, which was used to update the EU CLP Regulation) released by the European Commission. These two ATPs were published and came into force before the end of the transition period of Brexit and the HSE has already added these substances to the GB MCL list.

On January 16, 2024, trihydrogen pentapotassium di(peroxomonosulfate) di(sulfate) (CAS: 70693-62-8) was approved for use in biocidal products of product-types 2, 3, 4, and 5, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council. Earlier on 15 January, Alkyl (C12-16) dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride (CAS: 68424-85-1) was approved as an existing active substance for use as product-type 2, subject to the specifications in Table 2.

Helsinki, January 23, 2024 – The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) officially announced the addition of two substances of very high concern (SVHC), bringing the total number of substances on the SVHC list (also known as the Candidate List) to 240. ECHA has also updated the existing Candidate List entry for dibutyl phthalate to include its endocrine-disrupting properties for the environment. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) was added to the SVHC Candidate List in October 2008 in the first batch.

On 18 January 2024, ECHA published a screening report to assess whether the use of these four benzotriazoles in articles, including UV-328, UV 327, UV-350, and UV-320, should be restricted in accordance with REACH Article 69(2). Based on the available evidence, ECHA is considering restricting or prohibiting the use (or presence) of three out of the four substances, including UV-320, UV-350, and UV-327 in articles and preparing an Annex XV dossier for restriction. In terms of UV-328, ECHA is of the view that at present there is no need to prepare an Annex XV dossier for restriction as the substance is expected to be addressed by the EU POPs regulation.

Starting from 2023, the amendments to Annex II of REACH regulation on safety data sheets (SDSs) became mandatory. This means that related enterprises must affix a unique formula identifier (UFI) code in section 1.1 of their SDS when exporting mixtures to the EU. Mixtures that meet specific conditions must also complete poison center notification (PCN).