Chinese ministry requests data on physical-chemical properties, toxicity, production & use, environmental exposure for set of chemicals; 17 are used in food contact materials; feedback open until August 31, 2019
May 20, 2019
Royal DSM to phase out NMP
Health and materials company plans to phase out N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) from coating resins by July 2020, promotes solvent-free waterborne resins
April 30, 2019
Consultation opens for REACH authorizations
EU Commission opens public consultation on 12 substances proposed for addition to REACH Annex XIV authorization list, including 6 FCM-relevant substances; regulation set to be adopted in October 2019
March 28, 2019
Lack of information on chemicals
European and U.S. regulatory leaders concerned about the general public’s poor view and awareness of chemicals, call for the collection of more information
March 20, 2019
GenX chemicals proposed as SVHCs
New Dutch proposal calls for review of GenX chemicals as substances of very high concern in the EU; commenting period open until April 29, 2019
March 13, 2019
REACH socio-economic analysis criticized
NGO ChemSec publishes report criticizing implementation of socio-economic analysis under REACH; argues social costs are mostly ignored while applicants only consider their own finances; calls for policymakers to discuss improvements
February 22, 2019
12 additional substances for authorization
EU Commission announces the planned addition of 12 substances to the REACH Authorization List, set to be added in October 2019
February 15, 2019
Too little regulatory follow-up in REACH
Report by NGO European Environmental Bureau finds over 70% of substances with completed REACH evaluations demonstrating concern for human health or the environment have not yet received any regulatory follow-up to manage risks
February 8, 2019
4-tert-butylphenol as SVHC
EU Commission plans to identify food contact substance 4-tert-butylphenol (PTBP) as substance of very high concern (SVHC) for endocrine disruption in the environment; intention notified to World Trade Organization
February 1, 2019
OECD urges restricted substances list for plastics
OECD report suggests establishing global list of restricted substances for plastics manufacturing in order to ‘support quality and consistency in recycling’