Non-food legislation – April 2022

Hazardous substances – EU rules and regulations
ECHA reports that five substances have been added to the REACH Authorisation List. The amendment of the Authorisation List (Annex XIV to REACH) was published on 11 April 2022 in the OJ. The list now contains 59 entries. ECHA also reports that the EC has revised certain information requirements for registering chemicals under REACH. The changes will begin to apply in October 2022. ECHA will publish further advice later this year.
ECHA and the Member States have assessed (1.35 MB) a group of 148 bisphenols and recommended that more than 30 bisphenols need to be restricted due to their potential hormonal or reprotoxic effects. ECHA has also published an assessment report concluding that further examination of the risks from the use of 10 phthalates in articles should be considered as part of a larger investigation to address risks of ortho-phthalates. Ortho-phthalates are listed in the Restriction Roadmap that the EC is expected to publish soon.
On 31 March 2022, European Parliament ENVI members voted on the draft report on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) proposing stricter limits on the waste management of POPs to protect health and environment.

Hazardous substances – rules and regulations in NL and US
NL: In a recently published report (in Dutch, 2.39 MB), the Association of Netherlands Municipalities VNG (in Dutch) and the IPO call for intensive cooperation to gain more knowledge about SVHCs and their distribution in the environment.
US: FPF reports that EPA has removed two PFAS that were still listed on the Safer Chemical Ingredients List SCIL.
Keller and Heckman reports that the OEHHA has issued a second notice of modification to the proposed amendments to limit the option for providing a shortened version of the California Proposition 65 warning on consumer and other products. Prop 65 is a right-to-know law that requires individuals to receive a clear and reasonable warning before being exposed to certain chemicals.

NL: Four warning pictograms for medicines
From now on, the Dutch medicine authority CBG (in Dutch) is permitting four warning pictograms on medicine boxes. These are pictograms that alert the medicine user/patient to a warning in the case of pregnancy, breastfeeding, driving and/or alcohol.

Possible health effects of hazardous substances - research
FPF reports that researchers from Brunel University London have systematically reviewed animal and epidemiological studies to investigate the association between bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and declining semen quality. The review (4.4 MB) is published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health.
Stockholm University reports on a new study published in Science (abstract) linking endocrine disruptors (EDCs) to delayed language development.
In a review article (697 kB) published in Endocrinology, researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana and co-authors discuss the relationship between exposure to two groups of EDCs (PFAS and parabens) and breast cancer development.
VU Amsterdam reports that the results (706 kB) of the research project Immunoplast have been published in Environment International. The research shows that miniscule pieces of plastic from our living environment are absorbed into the human bloodstream.
 

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