On 2 October nine more pure substances were added to the REACH Annex XIV list. The list of the substances concerned can be found here.

Five of these substances are suspected to be toxic for reproduction, two are PBT substances (a chemical that is persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic) and another two are vPvB substances (a chemical that is very persistent and very bioaccumulative).

All substances on the REACH Annex XIV list are subject to authorisation. For the new substances on the list

On the basis of the Biocidal Products Regulation, ECHA has launched a consultation on boric acid (EC 233-139-2, CAS No 10043-35-3) and disodium tetraborate pentahydrate (EC 215-540-4, CAS No 12179-04-3) as new potential candidates for substitution. The deadline for comments is 27 October 2020.

Boric acid acts as a fungicide and insecticide and is used by industrial, professional and non-professional users as a preventive and curative wood preservative for wood and construction timber in

On 1 September, two proposals to identify new Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) were submitted to ECHA:

• Bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)ether (CAS number 143-24-8)
• Dioctyltin dilaurate, stannane, dioctyl-, bis(coco acyloxy) derivs., and any other stannane, dioctyl-, bis(fatty acyloxy) derivs. wherein C12 is the predominant carbon number of the fatty acyloxy moiety.

Both substances are suspected to be toxic to reproduction.

Bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl) ether is used as a

From January 2021, you will be required to notify ECHA (= European Chemicals Agency) if your products contain Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) in a concentration of more than 0.1 percent by mass and are produced, sold or imported on the EU market.

You believe this doesn't concern you? You could be mistaken, though, because many products contain:

• Lead, for example in copper or aluminium alloys (fasteners, housings, cable conduits, etc.),
• Plasticizers (phthalates), such as DEHP

According to the latest IMDS newsletter, the deactivation of the Rec019 data sheets (originally 1 July 2020) will be postponed. It is expected to be implemented with Release 13.0, which is scheduled for March 10, 2021. The reasons given are the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic and the SCIP reporting requirements for the automotive and electronics industries.

The IMDS Steering Committee, representatives of the ZVEI and the supplier associations (AIAG, CLEPA and JAPIA) continuously discuss how

From 17 July 2020, further substances will be identified as SVHC in the IMDS. The updated REACH candidate list can be found here.

From 4 July 2020, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), its salts and other compounds related to PFOA are banned under Annex XVII, entry 68 of REACH.

The prohibition applies:

• manufacture, use and placing on the market,
• substances, preparations or articles and
• a concentration ≥ 25 ppb PFOA including its salts or 1,000 ppb of one or a combination of PFOA-related substances.

Here you can find the current EU Commission Regulation (PDF).

With Release 12.1 (active since 25 March) and 12.2 (planned for June 2020) there are some new features in IMDS:

• CAMDS interface
• Definition of an IMDS standard contact person
• Deactivation of preselection for application codes
• Warning regarding preliminary material data sheets (MDS)
• Display of the supplier code in the inbox and outbox

In our two-hour release webinar (No. 6125) we will present the changes in detail and show you how to work with them correctly.

Despite the Corona crisis we are still there for you. You can also reach us in our home office by e-mail and telephone. You can find your contact person here. We will also process your inquiries via our website as quickly as possible.

Are your employees on vacation or on short-time work? We would be happy to take over all tasks related to material reporting in these difficult times.

We offer our training courses as webinars until further notice. Here you can find the current training