The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has issued its first recommendation for harmful chemicals that should undergo Europe’s new strict ‘authorisation’ process. EU member states have adopted an opinion supporting the recommendation.

The ECHA recommends that seven substances of very high concern should be subject to use and market access only with explicit authorisation under the EU’s REACH law. This decision, backed by member states, was further supported by environment and health public interest organisations, who hailed this an important step in the implementation of REACH, however they also call for the list of chemicals to be swiftly expanded.

ECHA proposed a priority list of seven substances of very high concern (SVHCs) for the authorisation list to be issued in January. These seven substances were drawn from the so-called ‘first’ Candidate List of fifteen. On 1st June, ECHA proposal was submitted to the European Commission which will then approve the list through a comitology procedure again involving member states.

Three of the seven chemicals are officially classified in Europe as toxic to reproduction, one is officially classified as carcinogenic, and three are recognised as being persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB).

ECHA’s Member State Committee adopted the proposed list by consensus. However six national representatives raised concerns about the inclusion of the flame retardant HBCDD, arguing inclusion on the list could harm small businesses. This goes against REACH which mandates that harmful chemicals be lined up for the authorisation procedure solely on the basis of the hazards posed by their toxic properties. HBCDD has been identified as a persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substance by an EU working group, with potential effects on the liver, brain, nervous and hormone system. Under the authorisation stage of REACH, substance producers or users will have to show that the risks of a particular use can be adequately controlled, or for certain chemicals, that there are overwhelming socioeconomic benefits to the substance’s use (that outweigh the health and environment risks)and that no alternatives exist. Failing these, the use will be banned.

The committee did not support ECHA’s proposals to exempt four chemicals - MDA, DEHP, DBP and BBP- from obtaining authorisations– when used in artists’ paints, despite DEHP, DBP and BBP, phthalates or plastic softeners, already being banned in toys and childcare articles in the EU. Medical devices containing DEHP must also be labelled according to the revised European Medical Devices Directive. These phthalates (which become more powerful when present simultaneously), are examined in a recent report on male reproductive health disorders. ,. The existing knowledge about the contribution of phthalates to human testicular disorders, would point to the need for a reduction to humans exposure to phthalates.

The Committee also rejected the proposal by industry to exempt short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) from the need to obtain an authorisation when used in mixtures at a concentration at or lower than 1%. SCCPs have persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, properties

Candidate list too short and too slow?

Just prior to submitting its proposal, ECHA held its second REACH stakeholder meeting in Helsinki in late May 2009.

The meeting was companies, industry pressure groups, trade unions and public interest groups and representatives from 33 countries, including many from outside the EU .

Speaking at the meeting, Toxics Policy Advisor for the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) Lisette Van Vliet stated that the ECHA’s list of 15 Candidate substances of very high concern was too short and being developed too slowly. She highlighted the more robust list drawn up by NGOs, known as the S.I.N.* list 1.0(*Substitute it Now of 267 high concern chemicals which fulfill REACH criteria. She repeated HEAL’s call for multiple risk assessment under REACH to account for risks posed by multiple chemicals which can be more dangerous when present simultaneously, and are known to have common adverse effects. These chemicals, to which people are simultaneously exposed, are potentially more harmful to human health than has been traditionally recognised by risk assessment methods – the assessments establish ‘safe levels’ of separatel chemicals.

The European Confederation of Trade Unions also presented their REACH Priority list, which when combined with the S.I.N. list covers 408 high concern chemicals, and ranks chemicals known to be cause recognised occupational diseases.

The presentations drew complaints from industry representatives, who argued that the alternative lists would cause confusion to downstream users. These comments stood in stark contrast to the success these lists are having with pro-active companies eager to eliminate harmful substances from their product lines, and member states looking to identify the next chemicals for the Candidate list, (from which chemicals are subsequently prioritised for the authorization process).

It is estimated that somewhere between 1,500 and 3,000 chemicals registered under REACH will eventually qualify as substances of very high concern and need to go through the authorization process.