MSC supports by majority inclusion of HDDA to the Candidate List

The majority of the Member State Committee's (MSC) members supported Sweden's proposal to identify the skin sensitiser HDDA as a substance of very high concern (SVHC) and include it in the Candidate List. The MSC opinion and the minority position of those not agreeing on the identification will be sent to the European Commission for its final decision.

News alert | SVHC opinions of the Member State Committee

Guidance on substances in articles updated

Following the judgement of the Court of Justice, ECHA has published a quick update to its Guidance on requirements for substances in articles. A more comprehensive update will follow in 2016.

News item | Guidance on requirements for substances in articles

Many companies still miss their registration duties

The third REACH-EN-FORCE project by ECHA's Enforcement Forum shows that 13 % of inspected companies have missed some of their REACH registration duties. Only representatives and importers are more at risk of non-compliance than manufacturers of substances.

Press release | Forum REACH-EN-FORCE 3 – Final Report

Update to the list of substances potentially subject to compliance checks

ECHA has updated the list of substances that might be chosen for compliance checks. The list now includes altogether 50 new substances. Registrants are advised to check this list and, if needed, update their related registration dossiers by 29 February 2016.

News item | List of the substances potentially subject to compliance checks | Compliance checks

Conclusions and evaluation reports for 16 substance evaluation cases available

Altogether, 16 substance evaluation cases have been concluded: three for substances evaluated in 2012, two for substances evaluated in 2013 and 11 for substances evaluated in 2014. The conclusion documents and the evaluation reports are available on ECHA's website. The conclusion document provides the view of the evaluating Member State on the need for regulatory risk management measures.

Substance evaluation - CoRAP

REACH, CLP and other chemical legislation - new page

As a downstream user, do you know how to make the most of the information in the safety data sheets provided by chemical suppliers? Our new page in the downstream user section of ECHA's website provides tips, links and examples of how you can benefit from this information to operate safely and in accordance with the different legal requirements that apply.

Downstream users' web page | Case study

Call for evidence: restriction of lead stabilisers in PVC

The European Commission has requested ECHA to start the preparation of an Annex XV restriction dossier concerning lead stabilisers in PVC. ECHA will assess the risks to human health and the environment associated to the use of lead compounds as stabilisers in PVC articles.

This call for evidence consultation is open until 15 February 2016.

Current calls for comments and evidence

Further substances assessed by authorities

Check the public activities coordination table (PACT) on ECHA's website for the latest updates on which substances are undergoing informal hazard assessment or risk management option analysis by authorities.

Public activities coordination table

Readers' guide available for preparing an application for authorisation

ECHA has published a readers' guide that provides potential applicants, and their advisors, an overview of the the key information to read before preparing and submitting an application for authorisation. It covers guidance documents, questions and answers and information on how the applications are evaluated by the Committees for Risk Assessment and Socio-economic Analysis. The readers' guide will be updated, based on readers' feedback and the publication of new documents.

Readers' guide for preparing an application for authorisation

New questions and answers on ePIC and REACH-IT

There are three new questions and answers available for ePIC. The REACH-IT questions and answers have also undergone a major update with new answers on several topics.

ePIC Q&A update | REACH-IT Q&A update

Biocidal Products Committee adopts 14 opinions

At its thirteenth meeting from 8 to 11 December 2015, the Biocidal Products Committee (BPC) adopted opinions for active substances for use in biocidal products used as disinfectants, wood preservatives, slimicides, film preservatives and insecticides. In total, the BPC has adopted 50 opinions in 2015, which represents an increase of almost 50 % compared to 2014, its first year of operations.

News alert | Annex

Upcoming deadlines to apply for Union authorisation of biocidal products

In 2016, several legal deadlines are relevant for applying for Union authorisation of biocidal products. Check the 11 substance-specific deadlines and apply in time to keep your products on the market.

News item

Public consultation launched on anticoagulant rodenticides

ECHA has launched a public consultation on several anticoagulant rodenticides as potential candidates for substitution: bromadiolone, brodifacoum, chlorophacinone, coumatetralyl, difenacoum, difethialone, flocoumafen and warfarin. The consultations are open until 15 February 2016.

Public consultation | Active substances as candidates for substitution

NGOs and ECHA discuss future priorities for risk management and alternatives to animal testing

10 December 2015, Helsinki

The meeting covered topics such as ECHA's planned activities on substitution, on-going work to improve the public consultation process and an update on animal welfare topics. The platform has been established to discuss topical issues of interest to civil society. All of the accredited NGOs are invited to contribute to the content of the meetings and to attend them either in person or remotely.

Meeting note | NGO-ECHA discussion platform | ECHA's accredited stakeholder organisations

REACH 2018 webinar: "Get organised with your co-registrants - SIEF management and data sharing"

2 March 2016, 11:00-12:00, Helsinki time

Register for this webinar particularly if you are registering a substance for the first time and do not have previous experience on substance information exchange forum (SIEF) activities and data sharing.

Register | REACH 2018

Topical Scientific Workshop - New Approach Methodologies in Regulatory Science

19-20 April 2016, Helsinki

The workshop will explore the impact of fundamental changes in scientific thinking on regulatory work. The preliminary programme was published in early December. The event is now fully booked, but if you would like to be added to the reserve list, please send an email to: scientificevents@echa.europa.eu.

Event page | Programme