March Regulatory Updates

CLP:

Ad hoc consultation on harmonised classification and labelling of glyphosate

The proposal for the harmonised classification and labelling of glyphosate (EC 213-997-4, CAS 1071-83-6) was proposed by Sweden and subject to a consultation, which ended on 22 November 2021.

Meanwhile, new articles potentially relevant to the classification of the substance have been published. They concern to the following hazard classes:

• respiratory sensitisation,
• specific target organ toxicity – single exposure (respiratory irritation),
• germ cell mutagenicity,
• carcinogenicity,
• reproductive toxicity, and
• hazardous to the aquatic environment.

ECHA is looking for comments related to these.

The deadline for comments is 12 April 2022.

Biocides:

Guidance on human health information requirements updated

We have published an update to the guidance document for the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) Volume III – Human Health – Information Requirements (Part A). The update aligns the guidance with the new information requirements of the BPR (Annexes II and III) amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/525, which will enter into force on 15 April 2022.

QSAR:

QSAR Toolbox updated

The web client of the QSAR Toolbox has been updated, simplifying its use. The new functionalities contain the possibility to run QSAR models or access the details of study results.

The OECD QSAR Toolbox is a freely available software for animal-free evaluation of chemical substances. It has over 25 000 users worldwide from regulatory authorities, industry, academia, and non-governmental entities. The Toolbox is co-developed by ECHA and the OECD.

EU PFAS restriction will have ‘very limited’ derogations, says dossier submitter:

An EU restriction dossier for a universal ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) will have “very limited” derogations even without essential use criteria contained in it, the project lead at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has said.

The comments from one of five European competent authorities jointly preparing the dossier come after a European Commission official established last week that the restriction would not incorporate essential use because criteria would not be ready in time, even though the Montreal Protocol concept was first pictured, in the context of chemicals, for a ban on PFASs

Cosmetics:

European Commission begins consulting on cosmetics Regulation revision

The European Commission has begun public consultation on the targeted revision of the EU cosmetic products Regulation, which is set to introduce significant changes to the law.

It opened on 29 March and will regard five measures under consideration. They are:

·         the generic risk assessment (GRA) approach, which would automatically ban the most hazardous chemicals and only allow their use if they are found to be essential to society;

·         a new measure to account for combination effects from exposure to chemicals from different sources;

·         a review of the definition of nanomaterials;

·         improving the labelling information on cosmetic products; and

·         streamlining the scientific assessment of cosmetic products by integrating the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) into Echa.

The consultation is based off of a questionnaire and is for all relevant stakeholders, ranging from EU citizens to professional users of cosmetics, industry associations, civil society organisations, and member state authorities, including those involved in customs and market surveillance.

REACH:

Resorcinol to be added to REACH candidate list after long battle

The European Commission has won its battle over the identification of resorcinol as an SVHC based on endocrine disrupting properties for human health, after its controversial draft Decision narrowly won the backing of EU member states.