Non-food legislation – January 2021

EU: REACH and CLP
ECHA’s Poison Centre team reports that since 1 January 2021 importers and downstream users are obliged to notify their mixtures in the harmonised format and to include a unique formula identifier (UFI) on the label.
SGS reports that the EU has published Regulation (EU) 2020/2096 to revise Annex XVII of REACH. ECHA has updated the REACH Guidance on the preparation of an application for authorisation (1.39 MB). According to a recent study (864 kB) by ECHA, the REACH authorisation requirement has pushed companies to move away from using SVHCs. The ECHA webinar held on 20 October 2020 gave an overview of the REACH restriction proposal to limit the use of all PFAS. The presentations and questions and answers addressed during the webinar are now available. A report (1.41 MB) from the ECHA Biocides Enforcement Project finds that one-third of the products claimed to be treated with biocides have incorrect labelling. A report (756 kB) from the ECHA REACH enforcement project has found that 6.5% of the inspected substances misses the required registration.
The call for evidence on the restriction of BPA has been extended from 15 January until 15 February 2021. The EU General Court has ruled in favour of the ECHA’s categorisation of BPA as a substance of SVHC due to endocrine disrupting effects on wildlife. The case was brought to the court by PlasticsEurope. FPF reports that the Second Annual Forum on EDCs took place on 17-18 December 2020. You can watch the livestreams here.

US: Regulations in California
Keller and Heckman reports that the OEHHA has relisted BPA as a reproductive toxicant under Proposition 65. The listing became effective on 18 December 2020. A resolution, introduced in the California Assembly, supports adding plastic as a hazardous material under the Basel Convention.

Brexit: REACH and wood packaging
The UK government has published information on the requirements for wood packaging with regard to ISPM 15 as of 1 January 2021. More information in Dutch can be found here.
Intertek has published a factsheet about UK REACH obligations that you can download after filling in your details. More information about the UK REACH can be found here.

COVID-19
The EMA reports that it is possible to get one extra dose (6 instead of 5) from vials of the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine if you use specific needles and syringes.
Inspections by ILT (in Dutch) at 39 Corona test sites in the Netherlands show that at 22 sites waste is not properly packaged and disposed of.

ADR 2021
Evofenedex has published a Dutch summary of the changes in ADR 2021 that you can receive by e-mail after filling in your details (in Dutch). More information in English can be found here.

Research and more
A study (summary, 51 kB) coordinated by the EDQM indicates that some cosmetic products sold as “perfume-free” in the EU still contain excessive levels of allergy-inducing fragrances.
The new report Plastics, EDCs, & Health (18.98 MB) from the Endocrine Society and IPEN presents a summary of international research.
Clean Production Action has published the Retailer’s Guide to Safer Chemicals and Materials (2.78 MB).
 

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