Sixteen Substances of Very High Concern closer to tighter control

Press Release
ECHA/PR/10/24
Media enquiries: ECHA Press

Helsinki, 3 December 2010 - The Member State Committee (MSC) agreed unanimously on the identification of eight Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) that will be added to the Candidate List and may thus become subject to authorisation. The Committee also gave a favourable opinion on ECHA's draft recommendation for adding eight new substances to the Authorisation List.

Candidate List

The eight identified SVHCs are:
Chromium trioxide, acids generated from chromium trioxide and their oligomers, cobalt(II)sulphate, cobalt(II)dinitrate, cobalt(II)carbonate, cobalt(II)diacetate, 2-methoxyethanol and 2-ethoxyethanol, which are either carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) substances.

The MSC came unanimously to the conclusion that currently it is not possible to identify the three isomers of trichlorbenzene as "PBT-like" substances under Article 57 (f) of REACH. The Committee was of the opinion that, based on the information available, it cannot conclude that the trichlorbenzene isomers can be identified as substances for which there is scientific evidence of probable serious effects to human health or the environment which gives rise to an equivalent level of concern to substances fulfilling the SVHC criteria set out in Article 57.

The MSC agreements and other supporting documentation for the eight SVHCs will be published on the ECHA website soon. The documents referring to the three trichlorobenzene isomers, where the MSC agreed that it was not possible to conclude that they are SVHCs, will also be published.

The eight substances will be included in the ‘Candidate List' after a decision on their inclusion has been taken by ECHA. The Candidate List will then be updated.

Authorisation List

The Member State Committee adopted by consensus its opinion on ECHA's draft recommendation to the European Commission for an update to Annex XIV (Authorisation List) of REACH.
The MSC agreed with ECHA that the following eight SVHCs should be subject to authorisation: di-isobutylphthalate (DIBP), diarsenic trioxide, diarsenic pentaoxide, lead chromate, lead sulfochromate yellow (C.I. Pigment Yellow 34), lead chromate molybdate sulphate red (C.I. Pigment Red 104), tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT). The MSC also agreed with ECHA that there are no grounds to recommend exemptions from Authorisation for these substances.

ECHA will take the MSC opinion into account when finalising its recommendation for Annex XIV which will then be transmitted to the Commission.