ECHA adds one hazardous chemical to the Candidate List

ECHA/NR/24/19

The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC) now contains 241 entries for chemicals that can harm people or the environment. Companies are responsible for managing the risks of these chemicals and giving customers and consumers information on their safe use. 

Helsinki, 27 June 2024 – The newly added chemical, bis(α,α-dimethylbenzyl) peroxide, is toxic for reproduction and is used as a processing aid, e.g. as a flame retardant.

Entries added to the Candidate List on 27 June 2024:

ECHA’s Member State Committee (MSC) has confirmed the addition of this substance to the Candidate List. The list now contains 241 entries – some are groups of chemicals so the overall number of impacted chemicals is higher.

This substance may be placed on the Authorisation List in the future. If a substance is on this list, companies cannot use it unless they apply for authorisation and the European Commission authorises its continued use.

Other substances

The MSC agreement seeking process to identify triphenyl phosphate (TPhP; EC no. 204-112-2) as an SVHC was foreseen for the committee’s June meeting. However, having consulted the committee members and the dossier submitter, ECHA decided to suspend the agreement seeking process for this substance because substantial new information became available in the days preceeding the meeting.

This suspension ensures that the newly provided data will be properly evaluated and considered in the SVHC identification process. This is an exceptional arrangement and applies only in the conditions specific to this case.

Consequences of inclusion on the Candidate List

Under REACH, companies have legal obligations when their substance is included – either on its own, in mixtures or in articles – in the Candidate List. 

If an article contains a Candidate List substance above a concentration of 0.1 % (weight by weight), suppliers have to give their customers and consumers information on how to use it safely. Consumers have the right to ask suppliers if the products they buy contain substances of very high concern.

Importers and producers of articles have to notify ECHA if their article contains a Candidate List substance within six months from the date it has been included in the list (27 June 2024). 

EU and EEA suppliers of substances on the Candidate List, supplied either on their own or in mixtures, have to update the safety data sheet they provide to their customers.

Under the Waste Framework Directive, companies also have to notify ECHA if the articles they produce contain substances of very high concern in a concentration above 0.1 % (weight by weight). This notification is published in ECHA’s database of substances of concern in products (SCIP).

Press contact: Mikko Väänänen, press@echa.europa.eu, +358 40 520 3513