On December 17, 2015 the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that it has updated its ‘Guidance on requirements for substances in articles’ following the judgment of the European Court of Justice regarding the notification of substances of very high concern (SVHC) in articles. The current update corrects the parts of the guidance referring to the 0.1% weight by weight limit for SVHCs in articles that are inconsistent with the conclusions of the Court of Justice. A more comprehensive update will follow in 2016.
On September 10, 2015 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that “each of the articles incorporated as a component of a complex product is covered by the relevant duties to notify and provide information when they contain a substance of very high concern in a concentration above 0.1% of their mass.” Previously, there has been disagreement among EU Member States whether the 0.1% notification threshold applied to each of the articles incorporated as a component in a complex product or to the entire product. Recipients and consumers have to be provided at least with the name of the SVHC contained in the article or product.
SVHCs are listed in the Candidate List under the European regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).
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ECHA (December 17, 2015). “Guidance on substances in articles updated.”
ECHA (September 30, 2015). “ECHA will update the Guidance on substances in articles.”
Court of Justice of the European Union (September 10, 2015). “Articles incorporated as components of a complex product must be notified to the European Chemicals Agency when they contain a substance of very high concern in a concentration above 0.1%.” (pdf)
Government Chemist (September 21, 2015). “European Court of Justice ruling on SVHCs in articles.” UK Government
Chemical Watch (September 10, 2015). “European Court of Justice rules on SVHCs in articles.”
