ECHA Adds Three New Substances to the Candidate List of SVHCs

On 25 June 2025, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the addition of three hazardous chemicals to the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) under the REACH Regulation. This latest update brings the total number of SVHC entries to 250.

Substances Added in June 2025

The newly listed substances include two siloxanes and one azo dye component:

• 1,1,1,3,5,5,5-heptamethyl-3-[(trimethylsilyl)oxy]trisiloxane (CAS 17928-28-8): Classified as very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) under REACH Article 57(e), this substance is used in laboratory reagents, cosmetics, personal care products, and fragrances.

• Decamethyltetrasiloxane (CAS 141-62-8): Also meeting the vPvB criteria (Article 57(e)), this chemical is found in cosmetics, personal care products, lubricants, greases, and automotive care products.

• Tetra(sodium/potassium) 7-[(E)-{2-acetamido-4-[(E)-(4-{[4-chloro-6-({2-[(4-fluoro-6-{[4-(vinylsulfonyl)phenyl]amino}-1,3,5-triazine-2-yl)amino]propyl}amino)-1,3,5-triazine-2-yl]amino}-5-sulfonato-1-naphthyl)diazenyl]-5-methoxyphenyl}diazenyl]-1,3,6-naphthalenetrisulfonate (Reactive Brown 51) (EC 466-490-7): ​​​​​​​Listed due to its classification as toxic for reproduction (Article 57(c)). This substance is primarily used in textile treatment products and dyes.

Regulatory Implications for Industry

With the inclusion of these substances, companies supplying them, whether on their own, in mixtures, or in articles, now face specific legal obligations under REACH.

• Information Duty: Suppliers must provide customers and consumers with information on safe use if an article contains more than 0.1% w/w of any SVHC.

• Notification Requirement: Importers and producers of articles containing any of the new SVHCs must notify ECHA within six months (by 25 December 2025).

• Safety Data Sheet Updates: EU and EEA suppliers must update their Safety Data Sheets (SDS) to reflect the inclusion of these substances in the Candidate List.

• SCIP Database Notification: Under the Waste Framework Directive, producers are also required to notify ECHA if their articles contain SVHCs above the 0.1% threshold. This ensures that the substances are included in ECHA’s SCIP database of substances of concern in products.

• EU Ecolabel Impact: Products containing substances on the Candidate List cannot qualify for the EU Ecolabel.

Potential Future Authorisation

ECHA notes that inclusion on the Candidate List is often the first step towards further regulatory control. The newly listed substances may, in future, be placed on the Authorisation List (REACH Annex XIV). Once listed, their use would require formal authorisation from the European Commission.