Non-food legislation – January 2022

Hazardous substances – Rules and regulations
EU: The EC has launched a public consultation on the simplification and digitalisation of labelling of chemical products. The results will be used for a revision of CLP, expected in 2022. The consultation is open until 16 February 2022. FPF reports on the Court of Justice decision that BPA must be listed as a SVHC under REACH. ECHA has published the first assessments of regulatory needs for groups of chemicals. ECHA has also published new Q&As on assessing regulatory needs of substances and a new topical page on phthalates. The EC reports that the roundtable on the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability has adopted a report (1.26 MB) on compliance and enforcement of chemicals legislation. A new report (2.25 MB) published by ECHA shows that limited data is available on the amount of waste streams containing nanomaterials in the EU. Another report (1.08 MB) published by ECHA found that most inspected products sold online were non-compliant with at least one requirement under EU chemical laws. Switzerland: SGS reports that the FOPH (in German) will be updating its Chemicals Ordinance (in German) with the eight SVHCs most recently added to the EU’s Candidate List. These will enter into force on 1 February 2022. SGS also reports that Switzerland is proposing to align its chemical restrictions under ORRChem with those of the EU POP regulation and REACH. US: Keller and Heckman reports that the OEHHA has issued a notice of modification to the proposed amendments to limit the option for providing a shortened version of the Proposition 65 warning on consumer and other products. Keller and Heckman also reports on a request for comments on the draft report for phase three of the Safer Products for Washington program.

Pharmaceutical developments
EU: Regulation (EU) 2021/2078 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 as regards the European Database on Medical Devices (Eudamed) has been published. The EC has published a Q&A document (795 kB) on medical devices. The EC has also recently published version 19 of the Q&A document (783 kB) on safety features for medicinal products for human use. NL: The Medicines Evaluation Board CBG (in Dutch) recently has revised two policy documents for pharmaceutical companies on product information requirements for medicines for human use.

Tobacco – rules and regulations
The EC has published a new report (5.12 MB) on smoke-free environments and advertising of tobacco and related products. The US FDA has postponed the effective date of the required warnings for cigarette packages regulations to 9 January 2023.

NL: Companies storing large quantities of packaged hazardous substances
In the Netherlands, companies that store large quantities of packaged hazardous substances are required to identify the risks for residents in the vicinity. RIVM has analysed whether the prescribed calculation method for this is still in line with the latest insights in the scientific literature. The conclusion of the research (1.68 MB) is that the method can benefit from improvements on a number of points.

Research on PFAS
Many of the PFAS that end up in the ocean boomerang back to shore after they are re-emitted into air with the crashing of waves, according to a Stockholm University study published (5.77 MB) in Environmental Science & Technology. A study (2.44 MB) by Emory University, published in Environment International, investigates PFAS exposures and birth outcomes in pregnant African American women. The NRDC has added new studies to the PFAS-Tox Database.
 

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