The most recent fifteen substances of very high concern that were proposed by individual member states to be added to the Candidate List have been unanimously accepted by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) member state committee.

However, HEAL has advocated for a faster pace for the addition of chemicals to the Candidate List, given that hundreds of chemicals have already been identified as meeting the criteria for addition to the List, and to make the right-to-know principle in REACH, which applies only to chemicals on the candidate list, more meaningful and effective.

The fifteen newest chemicals to be added to the candidate list are five anthracene oil and related compounds, coal tar pitch, acrylamide, aluminosilicate refractory ceramic fibres, zirconia aluminosilicate refractory ceramic fibres, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, diisobutyl phthalate, three lead chromate and related pigments, and tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate.