EU REACH

December 3, 2014 | Written by GreenSoft Technology, Inc.

Notification to ECHA Required for Continued Use of Candidate Substances

December 03, 2014｜Written by GreenSoft Technology, Inc.

December 16 marks the deadline for manufacturers and importers to notify the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) if they continue to use substances that were added to the REACH Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) Candidate List six months ago.

As part of the REACH regulation, manufacturers and importers have to notify ECHA if both of the following conditions are met regarding a Candidate substance present in their articles:

A) The substance is present above a concentration of 0.1% weight by weight, and
B) The substance is present in quantities totaling over one ton per year.

The two exemptions in which notification to ECHA is not required are:

A) The producer or importer can exclude the exposure of humans and the environment to the substance during normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use of the article, including its disposal.
B) The substance has already been registered by a manufacturer or importer in the EU for that use.

Companies have six months after the inclusion of the substance on the Candidate List to notify ECHA. On June 16, four substances were added to the Candidate List:

1) Cadmium chloride
2) Sodium peroxometaborate
3) Sodium perborate; perboric acid, sodium salt
4) 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, dihexyl ester, branched and linear

The ECHA website provides a webform for companies to submit their notifications online. Companies will first need to register and activate a REACH-IT account before they can submit their notifications.