The Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) list now contains 224 entries for substances that have serious and irreversible effects on human health or the environment. Companies are responsible for risk management of these chemical substances and must provide downstream users with sufficient information to use them safely.

On June 10, 2022, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the inclusion of N-hydroxymethylacrylamide in the SVHC list because it may cause cancer or genetic defects. It is mainly used in polymers and in the manufacture of other chemicals, textiles, leather or fur.

The SVHC list has since been increased to 224 items - some of which are in the chemical substance group, so the total number of chemical substances subject to this control is actually higher.

These substances will likely be included in the REACH Authorized List, also known as REACH Appendix XIV, a list of substances that cannot be placed on the market or used after a given date ("sunset date") unless the company has received authorization from the European Commission for the specific use, or the use is exempted. Use.

▌ SVHC List Substance Obligations

According to the EU REACH requirements, when substances are included in the SVHC list, companies need to fulfill the corresponding obligations. --whether the SVHC substance itself, the SVHC substance in a mixture or the SVHC substance used in an article.

If the concentration of SVHC substances in articles placed on the EU market exceeds 0.1% (mass fraction), sufficient information needs to be provided to downstream users to promote the safe use of the relevant products. Downstream users have the right to know from their suppliers whether the products they purchase contain SVHC substances. Suppliers are required to provide relevant materials including SVHC test reports and SVHC compliance statements to downstream users.

Importers and manufacturers must submit SVHC notifications to ECHA within six months from the date of listing (June 10, 2022) if the article contains N-hydroxymethylacrylamide.

Suppliers of SVHC substances (including N-hydroxymethylacrylamide), either supplying the substance itself or in its mixture form, must provide Safety Data Sheets (SDS) to their downstream users.

According to the Waste Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2008/98/EC), companies must submit a SCIP notification to ECHA if the concentration of SVHC substances in the articles they produce exceeds 0.1% (mass fraction)