ECHA Recommends REACH Authorization Requirement for Seven Chemicals, Including Three Siloxanes

The ECHA has recommended to the EU that it include the following seven substances in Annex XIV, the authorization list, of REACH:  

• Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) 
• Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5)  
• Dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6)  
• Terphenyl, hydrogenated  
• Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) 
• Disodium octaborate  
• Benzene-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid 1,2-anhydride (trimellitic anhydride, TMA) 

The change would obligate companies that want to continue to use these chemicals to request authorization. But before the recommendation can take effect, the member states, the EU Commission, and the EU Parliament must agree to the additions to the authorization list. 

In particular, the planned authorization requirements for D4, D5, and D6 would affect many companies. These chemicals are used in many sectors and products because of their multifaceted functions as plasticizers, solvents, moisturizers, lubricants, release agents, and antifoam agents. That is why industry associations, such as Silicones Europe, find the ECHA decision incomprehensible. They counter with two arguments: Far-reaching restrictions already apply to these chemicals and no adequate substitutes exist for them. The ECHA wants to use authorization requirements to cover uses that have not yet been restricted, such as in the industrial production of electronics and in dry cleaning. 

The authorization list now includes some 54 chemicals.  

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