On April 14, 2021, ECHA finalized its tenth recommendation[1] of SVHCs to be added to the REACH Annex XIV Authorisation List. The SVHCs are already on the REACH Candidate List; adding them to the Authorisation List will restrict their manufacture and use in the EU unless the manufacturer has an explicit authorization from ECHA for the intended application. The recommendation is now with the European Commission and EU members states for a final decision.

The recommendation includes the seven SVHCs listed in Table 1. Once the SVHCs are added to Annex XIV List, manufacturers and users in the EU will have a transition period (typically between 18 months to 3 years) to either phase out the use of the substance or obtain a company and application specific authorisation from ECHA.

Table 1: ECHA Recommendations for REACH Annex XIV

[1] ECHA recommendation for REACH Authorisation List, https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-proposes-seven-substances-for-authorisation-to-protect-people-and-the-environment

Norway has submitted a proposal to restrict the manufacture, use and placing on the market of Dechlorane Plus™ as substances, constituents of other substances, mixtures and articles[1]. Dechlorane Plus is a substance group that was added to the REACH Candidate List in January 2018. For the EEE industry the most common application is as a flame retardant for electric wire and cable covering material.

[1] ECHA registry of intentions for Dechlorance Plus, https://echa.europa.eu/registry-of-restriction-intentions/-/dislist/details/0b0236e184a168c4?utm_source=echa-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly&utm_content=20210414&_cldee=d2phZ2VyQGdvZWNkLmNvbQ%3d%3d&recipientid=lead-161102cfc0e0e71180fa005056952b31-e90de70ad95349898c9ca308b42b5d18&esid=b13ecc42-f79c-eb11-812a-005056b9310e

The Global Electronics Council (GEC) and TÜV Rheinland finalized and published their network equipment sustainability criteria[1]. The criteria will be used for implementing the EPEAT ecolabel program. EPEAT is used as a green procurement tool by several governments and large businesses.

[1] Network equipment sustainability criteria, https://greenelectronicscouncil.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bf0a49a26d86cf6fe6c3f22f9&id=7e4e8a301c&e=0cd5d987ca

Updates from the SCIP IT User Group Meeting on March 25, ECHA:

• • ECHA said that they still could not provide a forecast date for when the dissemination portal will go live. They hinted at technical issues preventing them from deploying the portal but otherwise seemed to be intentionally vague on the cause of the delay.
  • Some users are submitting dummy dossiers so that their products are registered in the database, but with incomplete article and SVHC data – presumably with the intention to update the SCIP dossier as supply chain information becomes available.
  • Improvements are being made to the IUCLID software and S2S system for creating and submitting SCIP dossiers.
    • ECHA plans to support multiple S2S keys for a legal entity – this will allow a legal entity (and their affiliates) to contract multiple solution providers to provide SCIP notification services
    • Improvements to downloading SCIP reports, including dossiers with more levels of hierarchy,

The European Market Surveillance and Compliance of Products Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 comes into effect in July 2021. The intention of the regulation is to ensure that products entering the EU market have a designated authority who is responsible for the compliance of products to applicable EU regulations.  Online sales by distant sellers are a particular focus of the regulation.

In preparation for the regulation going live, the Commission published a guidance document to assist duty holders and enforcement authorities. Two other guidance documents addressing mutual recognition and free movement of goods within the EU were also published. The Market Surveillance and Compliance of Products guidance document is available on the europa website[1].

The guidance lists the four types of actors that may be responsible for product compliance and it explains the circumstances under which each would be responsible. The four types of actors (in order of precedence) are:

• • Authorised representative
  • EU manufacturer
  • Importer
  • Fulfillment service provider

The guidance document provides a decision tree to help determine which economic operator is responsible in meeting the requirements specified in Article 4 of the regulation. The decision tree is excerpted below (Figure 2).

A fulfillment service provider is described as a supply chain actor that, without taking ownership of the product, fulfills at least two of the following services:

• • warehousing,
  • packaging,
  • addressing, and
  • dispatching

The fulfillment service provider may hand over the product to a postal/delivery service or it may deliver it themselves.

Figure 2: Decision tree in identify the economic actor who is responsible

[1] Commission guidance on Compliance regulation, https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/44908

The European Commission is preparing a Directive that will require companies with business in the EU to implement due diligence programs in preventing harm to human rights and the environment and to ensure overall good governance. The details of the regulation are still in discussion among the EU government bodies, but the European Parliament recently published a resolution with its expectations for the legislation[1].

The proposed scope (Figure 1) includes large organizations, small and medium size enterprises that are either publicly listed or operating in high-risk sectors. The proposal would also impose obligations on organizations that do business in the EU even if they are not established in the EU.

Figure 1: Scope of due diligence regulation proposed by European Parliament

Proposed requirements for a “Due Diligence Strategy” are specified in Article 4 of the regulation, including the following two excerpts which set the tone of the proposal:

• “… carry out effective due diligence with respect to potential or actual adverse impacts on human rights, the environment and good governance in their operations and business relationships.”
• “…make all efforts within their means to identify and assess, by means of a risk based monitoring methodology that takes into account the likelihood, severity and urgency of potential or actual impacts on human rights, the environment or good governance, the nature and context of their operations, including geographic, and whether their operations and business relationships cause or contribute to or are directly linked to any of those potential or actual adverse impact.”

The European Commission’s proposal is expected in June.

[1] EU Parliament resolution on due diligence, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0073_EN.pdf

On February 26, 2021, the European Commission published an omnibus regulatory update ((EU) 2021/341) that impacts several EU ecodesign implementing measures. The updates are intended to clarify certain technical aspects and in some cases provide verification requirements for enforcement. Although the changes are intended to be minor clarifications (from the Commission’s perspective), some manufacturers have indicated that certain changes are significant new technical requirements (from their perspective).

It amends ecodesign regulations: Regulations (EU) 2019/424, (EU) 2019/1781, (EU) 2019/2019, (EU) 2019/2020, (EU) 2019/2021, (EU) 2019/2022, (EU) 2019/2023 and (EU) 2019/2024, covering a broad range of products:

• servers and data storage products,
• electric motors and variable speed drives,
• refrigerating appliances,
• light sources and separate control gears,
• electronic displays,
• household dishwashers,
• household washing machines and household washer-dryers and
• refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function.

ECHA delayed the availability of the viewing portal to the content of the SCIP database. Statement from ECHA:

Due to unforeseen issues in deploying technology for ECHA’s website on which the SCIP Dissemination Portal will also run, the release originally foreseen for the end of February will be delayed.          

We are committed to providing greater transparency on the presence of hazardous substances in products and will communicate a new release date as soon as possible.

There is no forecast date provided.

Update:  on the March 25, 2021 SCIP IT User Group meeting, ECHA stated that there were technical issues with the user portal and that they could not commit to a specific date.

Last month we reported on the upcoming restriction in the U.S. of Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1) (PIP 3:1) (CAS 68937-41-7) in articles. Early indication is that PIP 3:1 may be contained in a number of EEE products – wire sheathing and foam gaskets are emerging as key examples. However, most manufacturers don’t know the full extent of the potential applications given that this substance is not restricted anywhere else. This created a risk for product manufacturers, importers, and distributers as of March 8^th, 2021.

There are a few exclusions to the restriction including “Processing and distribution in commerce for use as an adhesive and sealant until January 6, 2025, after which such activity is prohibited”, but there are still several EEE applications not covered by an exclusion.

EPA delays enforcement

On the same day that the PIP 3:1 restriction came into effect, the EPA announced a 180-day “No Action Assurance” on the restriction of PIP 3:1. This is EPA’s way of saying that they will not enforce the restriction during this time. The “No Action Assurance” was done in conjunction with launching an additional 60-day comment period to collect new input on the five PBT substances which were the subject of final rules under the U.S. TSCA regulation.

The press release states “the agency will exercise its enforcement discretion regarding the prohibitions on processing and distribution of PIP (3:1) for use in articles, and the articles to which PIP (3:1) has been added.”

The EPA acknowledges that there are newly raised issues that need to be considered with regard to the restriction in articles.

The EPA announcement is available on their news releases[1].

[1] EPA announcement, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-seeks-public-comment-protecting-human-health-and-environment-pbt-chemicals

The European Commission has requested European Standards Organizations to develop standards to address several ecodesign requirements for servers and data storage products. Table 1 below lists the standards requested in the Commission’s mandate.

Table 1: List of new harmonized standards to be developed