News

ECHA Weekly - 30 May 2018

REACH 2018: Make every effort to submit your registration on time

The final REACH registration deadline is on 31 May. ECHA staff, the national helpdesks and industry associations are here to help you all the way – you need to ensure that you submit your registration dossier on time.

News | REACH 2018 web pages

ECHA

Follow our microplastics workshop session today

We are hosting a workshop from 30 to 31 May on the outcome of the call for evidence to support ECHA's investigation into a possible restriction on the intentional use of microplastic particles in consumer and professional products. The plenary session between 13:00 - 15:00 (Helsinki time) on 30 May will be webstreamed.

Watch it here | Find out more

REACH-IT closed on 4 June

Due to scheduled maintenance, REACH-IT will be closed from Monday 4 June 2018 at 00:00 (Helsinki time) until Tuesday 5 June 2018 at 10:00 (Helsinki time).

During this time, you will not be able to access REACH-IT.

More

REACH 2018

Follow our media briefing on 1 June

We will host an online media briefing 'Safer chemicals in Europe - what has been achieved and what's next' on 1 June at 12:00 Helsinki time, focusing on the 10-year REACH registration journey. You can follow the briefing live from the link below. The link will also be promoted on our homepage as of 31 May.

Follow media briefing

REACH

Have your say on how to improve the generation of extended safety data sheets using Chesar

We invite you to give feedback on how you manage and compile your extended safety data sheets (eSDSs) with Chesar. The short survey will only take about 5 minutes of your time. Your input will help us to better understand your needs for generating exposure scenarios for communication and serve our development plans for Chesar.

The survey makes reference to the ESCom package, a catalogue of standard phrases for exposure scenarios, developed by Cefic. These phrases support consistent and harmonised communication of exposure scenario information throughout the supply chain.

Give feedback | Chesar website | ESCom package

Substance factsheet presents data from registration dossiers

The substance factsheet is the third and most complex layer of information in our chemicals database. It presents the source data submitted by companies to ECHA in their REACH registration dossier and notifications to the classification and labelling inventory. Our new document explains further what is included in a substance factsheet.

What is a registered substance factsheet? [PDF] | Information on chemicals

Restriction intentions submitted

ECHA submitted an intention to restrict lead chromate (EC 231-846-0), lead sulfochromate yellow (C.I. Pigment Yellow 34) (EC 215-693-7) and lead chromate molybdate sulphate red (C.I. Pigment Red 104) (EC 235-759-9) in imported articles on 22 May 2018 for submission on 12 April 2019.

Registry of restriction intentions

Authorisations granted for various uses of three substances

The European Commission has granted authorisations for four uses. Review periods expire on the dates given in brackets.

One use of chromium trioxide (EC 215-607-8) – Safran Aircraft Engines (21 September 2027).
Two uses of chromium trioxide (EC 215-607-8) – MTU Aero Engines AG (21 September 2029).
One use of bis(2-methoxyethyl) ether (diglyme) (EC 203-924-4) – Bracco Imaging SpA (22 August 2029).
One use of 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC) (EC 203-458-1) – DOW Italia S.R.L., DOW France SAS (22 November 2029).

A total of 142 authorisations have been granted to date.

Official Journal

Testing proposals

ECHA has launched 12 new public consultations on testing proposals. The deadline to comment these is 5 July 2018. In total, there are currently 39 public consultations open on testing proposals.

Give comments

CLP

Intentions to harmonise classification and labelling

An intention to harmonise the classification and labelling has been received for:

boric acid [1]; diboron trioxide [2]; tetraboron disodium heptaoxide, hydrate [3]; disodium tetraborate, anhydrous [4]; orthoboric acid sodium salt [5]; disodium tetraborate decahydrate [6]; disodium tetraborate pentahydrate [7] (no EC/CAS numbers).

The intention to harmonise the classification and labelling of crystalline silica: quartz (SiO₂); [1] tridymite; [2] cristobalite; [3] (EC 238-878-4/239-487-1/238-455-4, CAS 14808-60-7/15468-32-3/14464-46-1) has been withdrawn.

Registry of CLH intentions

Biocides

Guidance on biocides updated

ECHA has published an update to its guidance on how to fulfil the information requirements set by the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR).

The update involves a revision of the general introduction and reformatting for improved readability of Part A of Volume I: Identity/physico-chemical properties/analytical methodology, Volume II: Efficacy, Volume III: Human Health and Volume IV: Environment.

The update of Part A of Volume II also aligns the guidance with Parts B+C (Assessment and Evaluation) of the same volume, to reflect the recent changes in the legislation and the applicability of the guidance.

Biocides guidance

Supply chain communication

Updated generic exposure scenarios from ESIG now published

The updated generic exposure scenarios (GESs) for workers by the European Solvents Industry Group (ESIG) are now available for download from the use maps library. The files are available in Chesar format and can be directly imported into the tool.

Additional supporting documents and timelines for the publication of other elements of the use maps package (e.g. SPERCs) are also provided.

Use map pages

Will this tool change safety data sheets?

Have you ever read a safety data sheet (SDS) and wondered whether it has all the information it should have, or maybe even found it difficult to understand?

A new online tool from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate checks whether your SDSs contain the right information and sends feedback to suppliers. The tool is currently available in Dutch, but an English version is under construction.

Find out more about how the tool can benefit downstream users of chemicals and mixtures in our latest newsletter.

Read more | ECHA Newsletter

PIC

Update to ePIC tool

A new version of ePIC has been published today. The update prepares ePIC to address upcoming changes under the new Mercury Regulation. Improvements have been made to legal declarations and industry alert emails. Additional safety data sheet languages are also available.

To improve quality of data in the PIC export notifications, we will develop brief guidelines to help companies fill in section 6.2, 'Final regulatory action', of an export notification. The guidelines are expected in the autumn, before the annual notification peak.

ePIC

Board of Appeal

Board of Appeal decision on data sharing under BPR published

Case A-007-2016 concerns a decision on a data sharing dispute under the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR). The Board of Appeal upheld the appeal and found that the Agency made an error in its assessment of the efforts of the parties to that dispute. In particular, the Agency failed to take into account the Appellant’s efforts having regard to the entirety of the negotiations. The Agency’s decision refusing access to certain studies was therefore annulled.

Decision

Events

Save the date: REACH Compliance – Workshop on Data Quality in Registration Dossiers
23-24 August 2018, Berlin

The workshop, co-organised jointly by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the German Environment Agency (UBA) and ECHA, will focus on the results of the REACH Compliance Project, which revealed data gaps and deficient data quality in REACH registrations.

More | REACH Compliance Project