EU Chemicals Agency expands Candidate List with hazardous cleaning chemicals

24 Jan 2024 --- The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announces the addition of five hazardous chemicals to the Candidate List, bringing the total to 240 substances of very high concern. The chemicals listed pose potential risks to human health and the environment.

The personal and home care industries are among those impacted, as the newly listed substances are found in washing and cleaning formulations, including inks, toners, adhesives and sealants.

Implications for industries
The Candidate List is a collection of substances with serious potential harm.

It serves as a reference list for businesses, placing them responsible for managing and communicating the risks associated with these chemicals to consumers.

The recent additions include a chemical toxic for reproduction, three classified as very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB), and one identified as toxic for reproduction and persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic.

Newly added substances
Two of the five new substances are used in cleaning products, Additionally, the existing entry for dibutyl phthalate has been updated.

The 2-(2H-benzotriazol-2-yl)-4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol is classified as vPvB. According to ECHA, it is found in air care products, coating products, adhesives, sealants, lubricants, greases, polishes, waxes and washing and cleaning products.

Expanding the Candidate List underscores the need for industries to reassess their use of hazardous chemicals.
Bumetrizole, a second substance classified as vPvB, can be found in coatings, adhesives, sealants, cleaning and washing products.

Dibutyl phthalate’s updated entry includes its endocrine-disrupting properties and environmental impacts. ECHA notes its use in metal working fluids, washing and cleaning products, laboratory chemicals and polymers.

Regulatory implications
Under the REACH regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals), companies face legal obligations when their substances make it to the Candidate List.

This includes informing consumers about the safe use of products containing these substances. Importantly, consumers have the right to ask about these substances in the products they buy.

ECHA says that companies dealing with substances on the Candidate List must notify the agency, and EU and European economic area suppliers must update the safety data sheets for the substances they supply.

The potential addition of these substances to the Authorization List in the future may further restrict their use, requiring companies to seek specific authorization from the European Commission.

The Authorization List comprises substances in Annex XIV of REACH. Companies that want to continue using a substance on the Authorization List must prepare an authorization application and wait for the European Commission to permit them to do so.

By Venya Patel

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