REACH Candidate List Expanded: ECHA Evaluates Polybrominated Compound as an SVHC

Broad application portfolio

The highly persistent and highly bioaccumulative properties of DBDPE triggered the entry. The move deserves special attention because the change affects many companies. The substance is manufactured and/or imported in quantities of 10,000 to 100,000 tons per year in the European Economic Area (EEA). It is used in several industries, including the plastics, electronics, and electrical industries and in the manufacture of foams and insulation materials.

New obligations

If you manufacture and/or import DBDPE, you must now inform:  

• The user, in accordance with Article 33, paragraph 1 of the REACH Regulation: If the SVHC is present in the product in a concentration ≥ 0.1% by weight, you must communicate this information to the customer. 
• The ECHA, in accordance with Article 7, Paragraph 2 of REACH: The information obligation applies if the quantity of the substance in all articles supplied exceeds one ton per year.
  As a supplier of the substance, either as a pure substance or as a component of a mixture, you must also provide your customers with a safety data sheet (SDS). If one already exists, you must update Section 15 of the SDS in accordance with Article 31(9)(a) of REACH.

Also note that products containing SVHCs cannot obtain an EU Ecolabel in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 66/2010, Article 6, Paragraph 6.

What’s at stake

In its press release, the ECHA states that the identification of DBDPE as an SVHC will support potential restriction measures for brominated flame retardants. In other words, DBDPE could end up on the REACH Authorization List in the future. Companies would then have to apply for authorization to continue using the substance.

For further information and/or queries on this topic, please contact us at sales@kft.de.