Non-food legislation – November 2020

Databases and submitting data
ECHA reports that a new major release of the International Uniform ChemicaL Information Database has been published: IUCLID 6.5.
ECHA has updated their chemicals database - the dissemination platform - with several improvements to the REACH registered substances portal, Classification and Labelling Inventory and integration of POP key datasets. The new release also incorporates the IUCLID 6.5 dossier format.
A new manual (1.62 MB) helps to prepare dossiers that cover nanoforms of a substance. It includes targeted advice on IUCLID sections where information needs to be reported specifically for nanoforms.
ECHA has announced the launch of the SCIP database for companies to submit data on SVHCs in their articles. The Waste Framework Directive requires companies to submit their data as of 5 January 2021.

News from Europe
As a contribution to the Green Deal, EFSA and ECHA have drafted a joint position paper (162 KB) around the idea of “one substance - one assessment” for chemicals.
FPF reports that the EC has published a working document (2.7 MB) and related executive summary (298 kB) on the outcomes of a fitness check carried out on the effectiveness of existing EU legislation in managing exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
The background information on the call for evidence on the restriction of BPA has been updated. This call for evidence consultation is open until 15 January 2021.
ECHA reports that the Enforcement Forum has decided that its pilot project in 2022 will focus on how companies comply with their duty to notify mixtures for poison centres.

National regulations
Canada: In October 2020, the government announced a proposed order to add "plastic manufactured items" to the list of toxic substances. The proposal was published in the Gazette. China: Keller and Heckman reports that the government has published a Transition Document (in Chinese) for the amended chemical regulation. Switzerland: SGS reports that the government has transposed several ‘Decisions’ from the Stockholm Convention into its national legislation on POPs. The revision will become effective on 3 December 2020. US: FPF reports that the court of appeal for California has published its final opinion (296 kB) upholding the recognition of BPA as a reproductive toxicant and subject to regulatory requirements under Proposition 65. FPF also reports that the Washington government announced the publication of a draft version (8.32 MB) of its PFAS Chemical Action Plan.

Scientific research
The journal Birth Defects Research has published a special issue entitled “The Trouble with Plastics.” The authors share insights on the ways in which plastics can negatively impact health and induce birth defects. You can access the articles here.
KU Leuven researchers have discovered a new method to filter harmful PFAS from water. An article (abstract) about the research is published in Angewandte Chemie.
In an article (741 kB) published in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, a team of researchers present a systematic description of more than 200 uses of PFAS and the individual substances associated with each of them.
 

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