chromium trioxide

Chromium trioxide (EC No. 215-607-8; CAS No. 1333-82-0) is widely used in plating and surface treatment.

Notifications from 1 026 sites across Europe submitted by May 2021. confirm that chromium trioxide is still widely used in functional or hard chrome plating and surface treatment. The annual usage is estimated to be 7 000 tonnes. The substance of very high concern was placed on the Authorisation List in 2013 and its use has needed a specific authorisation in the EU since 2017.

By notifying the uses to ECHA, companies confirm that they follow the conditions for use set in the authorisation decisions granted to their suppliers. As part of the conditions, they must inform ECHA by the end of 2021 how their workers are exposed to chromium trioxide. This information will help companies to protect their workers even better by minimising their exposure to the carcinogen.

In December 2020 European Commission published 2 decisions granting authorisation to use the chemical until September 2024.

Enforcement authorities can now carry out inspections as necessary.

There are 2 principal duties for companies using chromium trioxide:

1. Apply for REACH authorisation in time;
2. Comply with the conditions comunicated by suppliers through extended safety data sheets.

The chromium trioxide applications for REACH authorisation by companies is now accelerating.

Actual Applications for authorisation – current consultations: https://echa.europa.eu/applications-for-authorisation-consultation

Joint authorisation originally applied by CETAC consortium (and others) will be ineffective after September 2024.

Ekotox Centers offer complex services to prepare all necessary documents on behalf of the customers. To stay on the market there is need for immediate action!

On the same time there is a duty to comply with the safety measures and operational conditions – requirements defined for downstream users by eSDS. To be sure that all is in compliance Ekotox Centers provide support to manage „Internal Dossiers for REACH Authorisation Compliance“ (IDRAC).

For more information ECHA news: https://echa.europa.eu/-/chromium-trioxide-widely-used-in-plating-and-surface-treatment

Ekotox REACH Authorisation web pages: https://ekotox.eu/reach-authorisation/

Application for REACH Authorisation – chromium trioxide – Ekotox Project: https://ekotox.eu/application-for-reach-authorisation-of-chromium-trioxide/