REACH Adds 8 New Chemicals to SVHC List
December 17, 2010
After unanimous agreement, ECHA, the European Chemicals Agency, has added eight chemical substances to the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) for Authorization. This brings the total number of substances of very highly concern under REACH regulation to 46.
The eight additional Substances of Very High Concern or SVHCs are:
• Cobalt (II) sulphate
• Cobalt (II) dinitrate
• Cobalt (II) carbonate
• Cobalt (II) diacetate
• 2-Methoxyethanol
• 2-Ethoxyethanol
• Chromium trioxide
• Chromic acid, dichromic acid, chromium trioxide, and oligomers of chromic acid and dichromic acid
Adding to the question of whether REACH is a pandemic, the eight new substances will expand the scope and aspects of registration and compliance. The eight new candidates are identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and/or reprotoxic in accordance with REACH Articles 57 (a), (b), and (c).
ECHA’s website lists the legal obligations that may apply to companies that manufacture, import, or use these substances on the SVHC list, whether used alone or in mixtures and articles.
"The SVHC list is the list of Substances of Very High Concern," Actio CEO Russ McCann told Environmental Leader. "Only the European community could come up with such a tactful term for 'highly toxic stuff'.
"More familiar substances on the list include types of lead, arsenic, and coal tar," McCann said. McCann has been focused on solving REACH and its predecessors with database-driven software for over ten years. In the same article, he pointed out:
"One tricky aspect of REACH is that its enforcement is different in each member st
ate in the EU. Penalties and fines for lack of REACH compliance in Hungary, for example, are different than the penalties and fines in Poland – in some cases they’re enormously different. So you must figure out which member state is most relevant to your concern."
The SVHC list is expected to grow. The current list is still a long way away from the 270-or so substances identified for priority substitution on the 'REACH SIN List', drafted jointly by public interest groups and NGOs.
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