ECHA, the European Chemicals Agency, has published for the first time, information on articles on the EU market that contains substances of very high concern (SVHCs). The Candidate List is filled by the information provided by companies and the majority of notifications received so far relate to four phthalates that are on due to their toxicity to reproduction.

The Candidate List, the list which provides information on consumer articles on the EU market that contain substances of very high concern (SVHCs) has been now published by ECHA, the European Chemicals Agency. The data gathered is based on information provided by companies to ECHA in notification and registration dossiers.

According to the ECHA, the majority of notifications received so far relate to four phthalates that are on the Candidate List due to their toxicity to reproduction. These can typically be found in plastic articles. Examples of such notified articles are cables, bags, packaging material, waterproof garments and PVC flooring. The second most common notification is for the brominated flame retardant (HBCDD), which is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. This substance can be found in articles used by the construction and building sectors such as plastic panels for the thermal insulation of buildings. It has also been notified in polystyrene foam used for packaging and in the plastic housing of electronic appliances.

The Agency received only 203 notifications from April to December 2011. The deadline for producers and importers of articles to notify ECHA of the presence in articles of the 20 SVHCs that were included in the Candidate List in December 2011 is in June 2012. In September 2010, the Commission reminded companies that they must register the most widely used or most dangerous chemicals by the deadline of 30 November 2010. This is a new obligation for producers and importers of articles and many may yet be unaware of their responsibility to notify. ECHA also warned that all articles listed just may contain the substance. Similarly, not finding an article in the list does not mean that it does not contain an SVHC.