On October 4, 2021, France published Decree No. 2021-1285 on Identification of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) in Waste-generating Products. The decree is another implementing regulation associated with the French Anti-Waste Promotion of Circular Economy, Law 2020-105.

The decree specifies which hazardous substances in products placed on the French market that need to be notified to purchasers and to an online database (e,g, SCIP).  The decree specifies SVHCs as identified under REACH and other substances of comparable concern as described below:

substances presenting a level of concern comparable to substances of very high concern which are not on the list referred to in Article 59 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. The list of these substances and their updating are set by order of the Minister responsible for the environment after notice of the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety.  (Source: unofficial online translation of excerpt from Decree)

The official Decree is available on the French government website[1]. This legislation could lead to a France specific version of an online database (similar to SCIP) as proposed by France earlier this year.

[1] France Decree No 2021-1285, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/download/pdf?id=qRpFOTNcN_R1TAogK7qOOostvrbVw7vibSIX3L_C8eE=

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added four substances to the Proposition 65 list of substances known to the State of California to cause cancer. The Proposition 65 notice of the four new substances is posted on the OEHHA website[1].

The substances are:

• tetrahydrofuran (CAS No. 109-99-9),
• 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (CAS No. 103-11-7),
• methyl acrylate (CAS No. 96-33-3), and
• trimethylolpropane triacrylate, technical grade.

The listing came into effect on December 17, 2021. Proposition 65 provides for a one-year transition period, therefore products that are an exposure risk for any of these substances will have until December 17, 2022 to meet the warning label requirements.

[1] OEHHA prop 65 notice, https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/crnr/notice-interested-parties-chemicals-listed-effective-december-17-2021-known

The U.S. EPA has proposed a rule that will extend the compliance deadline restricting PIP (3:1) in articles until October 31, 2024 and opens a 60 day public consultation period.

The summary in the proposed rule provides a convenient synopsis:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend the regulations applicable to phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Specifically, EPA is proposing to extend the compliance date applicable to the processing and distribution in commerce of certain PIP (3:1)-containing articles, and the PIP (3:1) used to make those articles until October 31, 2024, along with the associated recordkeeping requirements for manufacturers, processors, and distributors of PIP (3:1)-containing articles. EPA is also announcing its intention to commence a new rulemaking effort on PIP (3:1) and four other persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals that have been regulated under TSCA section 6(h). EPA is anticipating issuing a proposal to this end in 2023.

The proposed rule (which is expected to be approved) will provide EEE manufacturers who import manufactured goods (articles) into the U.S. a reprieve until 2024.

In the proposed rule, the EPA states that some companies and industry groups have indicated a need for even more time (beyond 2024) to comply. The EPA has invited those manufacturers to provided detailed technical information on the applications where PIP (3:1) is needed and the specific technical efforts they have undertaken to substitute.  The EPA has drawn an analogy to the level of technical detail that the EEE industry provides to the European commission to justify specific RoHS exemptions.

The docket id of the proposed rule is EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0598-0001 and is available from the regulation.gov website[1].

[1] EPA proposed rule on PIP (3:1), https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0598-0001

On September 5, 2021, ECHA posted a stakeholder consultation on four substances that are under consideration as SVHCs on the REACH Candidate List. The four potential SVHCs are listed in Table 1. These substances are likely to be added to the REACH Candidate List during the next update in December/January.  The IEC 62474 Validation Team is currently reviewing the substances for potential use in EEE.

Table 1: REACH SVHC Consultation List