Candidate List update: Four new hazardous chemicals to be phased out

The additions include three substances that are toxic to reproduction and one endocrine disruptor. The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) now contains 209 substances that may have serious effects on people or the environment.

Helsinki, 25 June 2020 – The endocrine-disrupting substance is used in consumer products, such as cosmetics. The three others are used in industrial processes to produce polymers, coating products and plastics, respectively. 

Companies are urged to check their legal obligations relating to the safe use of their substance. From January 2021, companies will also have to notify products containing SVHCs to ECHA’s upcoming SCIP database on substances of concern in articles and products. The database aims to ensure transparent information on articles containing hazardous chemicals throughout their whole lifecycle.

ECHA’s Director of Hazard Assessment says: “Chemicals on the Candidate List  are among the most regulated in the EU, and our aim is to gradually phase them out. In the meanwhile, companies need to ensure their safe use and be transparent towards consumers who have the right to know where these chemicals are used. Substituting them with safer alternatives can boost innovation and create a more sustainable circular economy.”

Substances added to the Candidate List for authorisation on 25 June 2020:

ECHA’s Member State Committee was involved in the decision to include butyl 4-hydroxybenzoate and dibutylbis(pentane-2,4-dionato-O,O')tin to the list.  

Background

The Candidate List includes substances of very high concern that may have serious effects on our health or environment. These may be placed on the Authorisation List in the future, which means that industry would need to apply for permission to continue using them.

Companies may have legal obligations when their substance is included in the Candidate List - either on its own, in mixtures or in articles. Any supplier of articles containing a Candidate List substance above a concentration of 0.1 % weight by weight has to give sufficient information to their customers and consumers to allow safe use. As of January 2021, companies will also need to notify ECHA’s SCIP database if their articles contain Candidate List substances.

Importers and producers of articles containing a Candidate List substance also have six months from the date of its inclusion in the list (25 June 2020) to notify ECHA.

More information on these obligations and related tools are available on ECHA’s website.

Candidate List substances: overview of hazardous properties

Of the 209 substances now on the Candidate List of SVHCs for authorisation, a large majority are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction. Many of them have several hazardous properties.