SGS: European Union to regulate 33 carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) category 1A or 1B substances under new entry 72 to Annex XVII of REACH

The European Commission has published a guideline with methods to assist the industry to comply with CMRs under entry 72 to Annex XVII of REACH. The stricter limits apply for different concentration limits in other entries to Annex XVII of REACH or EU legislation.

(PRESS RELEASE) GENEVA, 28-Dec-2018 — /EuropaWire/ — On October 12, 2018, the European Union (EU) published Regulation (EU) 2018/1513 [1] to regulate 33 carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) category 1A or 1B substances under new entry 72 to Annex XVII of REACH (Safeguard 148/18 [2]). The scope applies to the following:

(i) Clothing or related accessories
(ii) Textiles other than clothing which, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, come into contact with human skin to an extent similar to clothing
(iii) Footwear

This new piece of legislation will become effective after November 1, 2020. The new law contains multiple derogations, including a less stringent limit of 300 mg/kg for formaldehyde in jackets, coats or upholstery during November 1, 2020 and November 1, 2023. After this period, the more stringent limit of 75mg/kg applies. This derogation was due to limited information on suitable alternatives and to allow economic operators to adapt to the restrictions.

Within a week of the publication of the new law, the European Commission (EC) published an explanatory guide [3] to clarify the scope of the new legislation and to provide a (non-exhaustive) list of examples that are considered or not considered to fall under the scope of restriction. While clothing or other related accessories (point (i)), and footwear (point (iii)) in the aforementioned scope are self-explanatory, the guideline provides a number of examples for point (ii) relating to ‘textiles other than clothing which come into contact with the human skin under normal or reasonably foreseeable condition of use to an extent similar to clothing’. These examples include:

• Bath robes, bed linen, blankets
• Cushion covers
• Sleeping bags
• Towels
• Upholstery (fabric covering chairs, armchairs, and sofas etc.)

Toys such as plush toys can also be considered to fall under the scope as one may hug these for long periods.

According to the guideline, there are different concentration limits for these 33 new CMR substances in other entries of Annex XVII to REACH or other pieces of EU legislation. Where there are such differences, the stricter limits always apply. Examples of such differences are, inter alia, the limits on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) under entry 50 to Annex XVII of REACH and those in Directive 2009/48/EC, the Toy Safety Directive (TSD). It is also important to note that the TSD prohibits all CMR substances in toys.

The guideline provides a list of available methods in certain matrixes that can be used for the determination of the different CMR substances. It is interesting to note that the suggested method for benzene is for benzene emission (see item 17, Table 1). The guideline also suggests using the most effective method as some of the listed methods may require some adaptations.

Highlights of the CMRs and methods from the guideline are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1.

DEFINITIONS

Next step:

Stakeholders are advised to comply with the latest requirements for REACH for the EU market.

SGS will follow up and inform interested parties as developments on REACH regulation occur. Our expertise combined with consultancy services and experience in consumer product supply chains provides a central point of contact for global solutions. If you would like to learn more about how SGS can support your REACH compliance activities please visit www.sgs.com/reach.

For enquiries, please contact:

Hingwo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
t: +852 2774 7420

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SOURCE: SGS SA