The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has recently started a 3 month public consultation on its proposal to recommend six more substances to be included on the REACH authorisation list. This consultation started on June 24th and will run until September 23rd. Details of the six substances and their main uses are given in the table below. If these substances are added to the authorisation list, then any company placing them on the market or using them will need to have an authorisation in place in order to continue their use beyond a certain date. We ask that you circulate this note to your members and colleagues.
Any company concerned by these proposals and who wish to comment to ECHA are invited to do so during the public consultation. Further details of the consultation process can be found here http://www.echa.europa.eu/web/guest/addressing-chemicals-of-concern/authorisation/recommendation-for-inclusion-in-the-authorisation-list. In addition, any company potentially affected by the proposal are welcome to contact the HSA’s Chemicals helpdesk at chemicals@hsa.ie for assistance.
The six substances are:
|
Substance |
Main uses |
| N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), | Main use as a solvent in synthesis of chemicals (e.g. active pharmaceutical ingredients, crop protection ingredients)Solvent in the production of polyurethane coated textilesSolvent in production of synthetic fibres |
| Diazene-1,2-dicarboxamide (C,C’-azodi(formamide)) (ADCA), | Used as a blowing agent in the rubber and plastics industriesMainly used by downstream user sectors such as automotive, construction, electrical applications, sport and leisure products` |
| Aluminosilicate Refractory Ceramic Fibres (Al-RCF) | Used in high temperature industries as insulationMain use in furnace linings |
| Zirconia Aluminosilicate Refractory Ceramic Fibres (Zr-RCF), | Used in high temperature industries as insulationMain use in furnace linings |
| Bis(pentabromophenyl) ether (decabromodiphenyl ether) (DecaBDE) | Additive flame retardantUsed in plastics/polymers/composite materials/textiles, adhesives (aeronautic sector) coatings and inks |
| 4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol, ethoxylated (4-tert-Octylphenol ethoxylates) (4-tert-OPnEO). | Used in formulation of paintsEnd-use of paintsEmulsifier in emulsion polymerisation |
