STANDARD & LEGISLATION - UCIF Informs
REACH: Updating the List of Substances Subject to Authorisation Marcello Zinno
T
he European Commission has published an update of Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation, containing the list of substances subject to authorisation. The update includes the addition of twelve new substances, of which eight are classified as toxic for reproduction, two have carcinogenic and PBT/vPvB properties, and two are endocrine disruptors. The SVHC included in Annex XIV are now 43. Such substances listed in Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation cannot be placed on the market nor used after a certain date, unless permission is granted for a specific use provided that it occurs in safe conditions.
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UCIF-Italian Surface Treatment Equipment Manufacturers’ Association, Milan, Italy
However, other substances are not officially included in the REACH list, yet, but they are kept under observation. One of them is titanium dioxide, a chemical compound in the form of a colourless, whitish crystalline powder. Its chemical formula is TiO2 and, in nature, it has five different crystalline forms: rutile, anatase, brookite, and the two high-pressure polymorphs (due to meteorites’ impact) akaogiite and TiO2 II, which can be coloured due to the presence of impurities in the crystal. This substance is mainly used as a white pigment in paints, plastics and construction cement as well as an opacifier for coloured coatings; that
is why it is commonly called “titanium white”.
production and/or use of this substance to assess the impact of its possible classification as a group 2 carcinogen.
On June 9, the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has expressed its opinion on the proposal to classify titanium dioxide as a 1B carcinogen, presented France in May 2016. The RAC concluded that the available scientific evidence is insufficient to classify titanium dioxide as a 1B carcinogen, but it agreed on considering it as suspected of causing cancer by inhalation (group 2). Such classification will have a definitely smaller impact than that originally required by France. However, investigations will be needed in the different industrial chains involved in
The RAC’s opinion will be officialised by ECHA in September, discussed in political terms by CARACAL (the competent authorities for REACH and CLP), and finally sent to the European Commission for the final decision, which will only have effect after the publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
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