Substances in articles
December 4th, 2017
In October 2017, the Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement started the pilot project to verify compliance with the notification and communication obligations of substances in articles in REACH. The pilot project aims mainly to check compliance of producers, importers and suppliers of articles with their obligations (Articles 7 and 33 of the REACH Regulation) and identify the reasons for non-compliance and whether further actions are required (e.g. support to duty holders) by ECHA, the Commission and/or competent authorities of the Member States.
The target groups for inspection are article distributors and producers or importers of articles, and among articles, those that are likely to contain Candidate List substances to which consumers may be exposed are a particular focus point (such as electrical products and building materials). Specific substances that would be targeted in the project include: brominated/phosphorous flame retardants; short-chain chloroparaffins; phthalates; aprotic polar solvents; perfluorinated substances; and phenolic benzotriazoles.
The operational phase of the project started in October 2017 and will run until the end of June 2018. A report of the results is expected by the end of November 2018. ECHA updated its REACH guidance on requirements for substances in articles and also held a webinar for industry on the communication and notification obligations that EU importers, producers and suppliers of articles need to comply with in case their articles contain Candidate List substances..