SVHC substance is the abbreviation of "substances of very high concern", that is, substances of high concern.

In the EU REACH regulation, Annex XIV candidate list is the list of SVHC substances. The regulation stipulates that if the following two conditions are met, the manufacturer or importer of the article needs to submit a notification to ECHA in order to fulfill the compliance obligation.

On January 17, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) officially added nine hazardous chemicals to its list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), as shown in the following table.

Hazardous chemicals may be replaced by structurally similar or other substances for which there is a lack of current safety data and which may be as (or more) hazardous than the original substance. This change in substitution from a known hazardous substance to an unknown hazardous substance is called "regrettable substitution.

▌Related Impacts

The ECHA Member Committee confirmed the addition of these substances to the SVHC substance list.

The new additions bring the total number of entries in the SVHC substance list to 233 - the total number of affected chemicals is actually higher because some of them are in the chemicals group.

These substances may be further added to the Authorized List in the future (i.e., REACH Appendix XIV). If a substance is included on this authorization list, it will be banned unless the company applies for authorization and is authorized by the European Commission to continue its use.

▌Please implement the corresponding regulatory obligations on a case-by-case basis

According to REACH regulations, when a company uses a substance that is listed on the SVHC substance list and contains a concentration of more than 0.1% by weight, the company has corresponding regulatory obligations whether it is the substance itself, a mixture or an article.

◆ When SVHC is sold as a substance

Companies are required to transmit (e)SDS to downstream users.

◆ When SVHC is a constituent substance in a formulated product and the content is >0.1%

The company needs to deliver (e)SDS to the downstream users.

◆ When SVHC is contained in the article and the mass fraction of the substance is >0.1%

Companies are required to communicate information as required to ensure the safe use of the articles. In addition, according to the Waste Framework Directive WFD, if a company produces articles containing SVHC substances in concentrations exceeding 0.1%, the company must also submit a SCIP notification to ECHA (click for details → REACH SCIP notification).

◆ The articles contain SVHC, the mass fraction of the substance >0.1% and the total amount ≥1t/y

Enterprises need to submit SVHC notification to the official according to regulations (click for details → REACH SVHC notification). If the articles of importers and manufacturers contain substances in the list of SVHC substances in the above list, they must notify ECHA of SVHC within six months from the date of their inclusion in the list (January 17, 2023).

▌Jireh Advice

ECHL reminds chemical companies exporting to Europe to check the substance information in time to see if they are affected and fulfill the corresponding regulatory obligations in time to avoid affecting normal trade.