Attention!The EU REACH regulation is expected to undergo an important update

On 22 September 2020, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on its official website that the European Commission for Social and Economic Analysis (SEAC) had reached a consensus on the new restrictions of REACH.SEAC believes that the amount of formaldehyde released in articles and the amount of skin sensitizers should be limited within the European Union.

Under REACH, the SEAC decision will be referred to the European Commission.Within three months of receiving the SEAC decision, the Commission will provide draft amendments to the list of restricted substances in Annex XVII to REACH.

This time, SEAC agrees to include the following information of two substances on the restricted substances list of RAECH regulations:

  1.formaldehyde

    SEAC supports the ECHA's proposal to limit formaldehyde emissions to a concentration of no more than 0.124 mg/m3 in articles and less than 0.1 mg/m3 in vehicle and aircraft interiors.

  2.Skin sensitive substance

    SEAC also backed proposals by France and Sweden to limit skin-sensitive substances in finished textiles, leather and fur products that are on the market for the first time.According to official figures, up to thousands of substances have been identified by the European Union as skin sensitivities, such as hexavalent chromium, nickel, cobalt and formaldehyde.

About REACH Regulations

REACH stands for registration, assessment, authorization and restriction of chemicals. It is an EU regulation that came into force on 1 June 2007 with the aim of improving the protection of human health and the environment.In principle, REACH applies to all chemicals.These chemicals are not only used in industry, but also in our daily life, such as cleaning products, paints, clothes, furniture and electrical appliances.As a result, the regulation affects most businesses that sell in the EU.REACH places the burden of proof on companies, which must identify and manage the risks associated with the substances and articles they produce and sell in the EU in order to comply with the regulations.

GST reminds relevant enterprises to prepare in advance for this update and timely collect relevant information to meet the latest legal requirements to avoid legal disputes.We have a professional technical team to track the latest development of regulations and standards for you, and help you to develop the most comprehensive and economical test plan.If you have any questions about REACH or other product compliance, please feel free to contact us.