DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/869 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 13 March 2024
amending Directive 2004/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 98/24/EC as regards limit values for lead and its inorganic compounds and for diisocyanates.
Parliament has adopted new exposure limits for lead for the first time in forty years.
The amendment lowers the OEL and BEL values for lead and its inorganic compounds and introduces mandatory oil and BEL values for diisocyanates.
RICHTLINIE (EU) 2024/869 DES EUROPÄISCHEN PARLAMENTS UND DES RATES
vom 13. März 2024
zur Änderung der Richtlinie 2004/37/EG des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates und der Richtlinie 98/24/EG des Rates hinsichtlich der Grenzwerte für Blei und seine anorganischen Verbindungen sowie für Diisocyanate
Das Europäische Parlament hat erstmals neue Expositionsgrenzwerte für Diisocyanate verabschiedet.
ECHA’s Enforcement Forum prepares a project to check if suppliers have notified hazardous chemical mixtures to the poison centres. The poison centre notifications allow appropriate emergency response.
The objective of the checks is to protect human health by enforcing the requirement that suppliers of chemicals notify information about hazardous mixtures to the national authorities. The national authorities make that information available to poison centres so that they can give advice to citizens or medical personnel in the event of an emergency. Poison centres must have correct information about hazardous mixtures to ensure that the emergency response is well informed and appropriate.
The inspectors will check that the notification has been submitted and verify labels of mixtures and – where needed – Safety Data Sheets. The exact scope of the checks will be defined in the coming months.
Inspections in this project will begin in January 2025 and continue for six months, with the project report to be published at the end of 2025.
Annex VIII of the CLP Regulation – as of 1 January 2024 all hazardous mixtures for industrial use only, placed on the EU market, must be notified in the harmonised format.
In the lead up to the second compliance date for industrial use mixtures, a small increase in industrial use only notifications was observed via the ECHA Submission portal. However, industrial use only notifications represent around 10% of all notifications covering consumer and professional use types.
Companies who have made their poison centre notification for industrial mixtures in a national format before 1 January 2024 must update their information in the harmonised format by 1 January 2025. The notification must be done immediately in the harmonised format if any changes are made to the mixture’s composition, product identifiers, classification (for health or physical hazards) or toxicological hazards.
Detergents, as an everyday consumer and industrial product, have a significant impact on the environment through water pollution. Levels of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds lead to eutrophication of rivers, groundwater can be polluted if detergent ingredients are not fully biodegradable, and microplastics from packaging accumulate in these environments. In addition, detergents still contain substances that have an impact on human health. Many detergents on the market still contain hazardous substances that disrupt the endocrine system.
On 28 April 2023, the Commission published a proposal to revise the Detergents Regulation, which offers an important opportunity to improve the control of detergents on the European market and thereby minimise the impact on human health and the environment.
The draft Regulation is intended to implement the Zero Pollution Action Plan (ZPAP) and the Sustainable Chemicals Strategy (CSS).
Minimise the use of hazardous substances (CMRs, endocrine disruptors, toxic to a specific target organ in single or repeated exposure, respiratory sensitisers, PBTs, vPvBs, PMTs, vPvMs, hazardous to the aquatic environment, substances affecting the immune, neurological or respiratory system and substances with specific organ toxicity)
Reduce the use of phosphates and phosphorus compounds – setting limits in line with the EU Ecolabel
Prohibit the use of any plastic packaging for tablets or capsules for detergents
Extend biodegradability requirements to all detergents and surfactants
The purpose of the proposed regulation is
to simplify market rules
Removes the obligation to provide a compositional data sheet for hazardous detergents
Remove the mandatory intervention of the approved laboratories that have carried out tests under the Regulation
iii. The possibility to apply for an exemption for surfactants that do not meet the ultimate biodegradability criterion
EU-based manufacturer of detergents and surfactants
to simplify and streamline labelling
Introduce voluntary digital labelling, thereby reducing costs for industry and increasing the clarity of labelling for end-users
Distinguish between packaged products and products sold in cartridge format and how to label them
to facilitate the sale of innovative safe products (e.g. micro-organism-based detergents)
introduce safety requirements for manufacturers of micro-organisms in detergents
vii. Obligation for manufacturers to label the presence of micro-organisms in detergents to better inform consumers
increase sustainability and safety through clear rules for refilled detergents
viii. Consumers get the information they need when buying refill detergents
The vision of zero pollution by 2050 aims to reduce water pollution to a level that is no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems
Clarity, predictability and trust in Europe and its industrial policy are urgently needed.
On 20 February 2024 – 73 industry leaders spanning almost 20 industrial sectors presented ‘The Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal’ to Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo and Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen.
The declaration underlines the commitment of industry to Europe and its transformation and outlines urgent industry needs to make Europe competitive, resilient, and sustainable in the face of dire economic conditions.
The main demand: “Put the industrial deal at the heart of the new European strategic agenda 2024-2029.”
The Antwerp Declaration calls to Member State Governments, the next European Commission and Parliament to :
01 Put the Industrial Deal at the core of the new European Strategic Agenda for 2024-2029.
02 Include a strong public funding chapter with a Clean Tech Deployment Fund.
03 Make Europe a globally competitive provider of energy.
04 Focus on the infrastructure Europe needs.
05 Increase the EU’s raw materials security
06 Boost demand for net zero, low carbon and circular products.
07 Leverage, enforce, revive and improve the Single Market.
08 Make the innovation framework smarter.
09 A new spirit of law-making.
10 Ensure the structure allows to achieve results.
The guidance helps companies and authorities assess the risks to bees from biocidal active substances and products. It is part of wider EU initiatives that aim to reverse pollinator decline by 2030 and preserve biodiversity.
Helsinki, 14 February 2024– ECHA’s guidance document presents an approach to assess the risks of biocides to honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees, based on the latest scientific knowledge. It addresses uses of products such as insecticides and acaricides (product-type 18). Substances in these products may, for example, harm the bees’ nervous system and weaken their immune system, so that they are more susceptible to diseases.
The guidance will assist companies applying for active substance approvals or product authorisations under the EU’s Biocidal Products Regulation to conduct the risk assessment for their applications. It also explains the guiding principles for authorities to evaluate applications and to conclude on a biocidal product’s compliance with the authorisation conditions.
ECHA will host a webinar on the guidance on 5 March from 11:00 to 13:00 Helsinki time.During the event, experts involved in preparing the document will give an overview of its content and respond to questions from participants.
The European Commission and EU Member States will decide at a later stage when the guidance needs to be applied in the assessment of biocides.(more…)
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has today published its Strategy Statement 2024-2028. The strategy details the agency’s goals and priorities over the next five years to protect health and the environment through its work for chemical safety.
Helsinki, 30 January 2024– With its new strategy, ECHA will deliver on its existing wide legal mandate, build on its expertise and experience, collaborate with our stakeholders and partners, implement new tasks and support the ambition of the EU policy goals on chemicals. In support of these actions, we will also invest in our people so they too are ready for ECHA’s future work.
Main elements of the strategy – goals and priorities:
-Be a trusted chemicals agency;
-Respond to emerging challenges and changes in our legal landscape;
ECHA CHEM is a new solution for publishing information on chemicals. The first release, available now, includes information from all REACH registrations – and there is more to come.
Helsinki, 30 January 2024– ECHA maintains the largest chemicals database in the European Union (EU), combining industry-submitted data with information generated in the EU’s regulatory processes. ECHA CHEM is the new solution to share with the public the growing amount of information hosted by the Agency.
In the first version of ECHA CHEM, you can find information from all the over 100 000 REACH registrations that companies have submitted to ECHA. Later this year, the database will be expanded with the redesigned Classification and Labelling Inventory, followed by the first set of regulatory lists.
Background
ECHA’s current Information on chemicals platform, launched in 2016, grew rapidly and contains today information on over 360 000 chemicals. In 2022, ECHA announced that it would create a new system for publishing chemicals data. ECHA CHEM allows the Agency to better handle the growing diversity and quantity of data, while taking advantage of technological advancements.
Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety SCCS OPINION on Methylparaben (CAS No. 99-76-3, EC No. 202-785-7 adopted by written procedure on 14 December 2023.
„On the basis of the safety assessment considering all available data and the concerns related to endocrine activity, the SCCS is of the opinion that the use of Methylparaben as a preservative in cosmetic products at concentrations of up to 0.4% (expressed as acid) is safe.“
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