May 2022, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (known as the RoHS-Directive), which recommended to add Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBP-A) and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) into the List of RoHS Restricted Substances. If this draft is approved, the number of the RoHS Restricted Substances will be increased from 10 to 12. The European Commission is planned to adopt the it in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the restriction measures of these two substances shall be subject to the final decision of the Commission....

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is receiving comments on draft standard “ready mixed paint, air drying, red oxide-zinc chrome painting-specification” until 11 May 2022. This Draft has extended the limit of lead restriction in household coatings to industrial applications. To prevent lead exposure of children and adults and consequent adverse impact on human health and safety and because of further scope for children’s exposure to the dried paint surfaces, the lead res...

On April 6 2022, ECHA and the Member States have assessed a group of 148 bisphenols and recommended that more than 30 bisphenols need to be restricted due to their potential hormonal or reprotoxic effects. Many bisphenols are known endocrine disrupters both for human health and the environment and may lead to exposures to both professionals and consumers. Bisphenols are mostly used as intermediates in the manufacture of polymers or polymer resins, such as polycarbonate plast...

On 11 Apr. 2022, the European Commission has added 5 substances into the Authorised List by adopting the Commission Regulation COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2022/586 of 8 April 2022 regarding amending Annex XIV to REACH Regulation. This amendments will take effect from 1 May 2022. So far, a total of 59 substances are subject to authorization. The newly added entries are as follows: Entry Nr Substance Intrinsic property(ies) referred to in Article 57 Transitional arrangements Ex...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a second round of test orders under section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on eight of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation. After reviewing reasonably available data on these chemicals, EPA has determined additional data are needed and is using its TSCA test order authority to require companies to develop and submit information on avian and aquatic environmental haz...

Brief Introduction The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is an Indian national standards and certification authority established under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 (The BIS Act, 2016). Its main tasks are to formulate and implement national standards, implement conformity assessment systems, and manage BIS certification. Product certification in India basically implements the principle of voluntary certification, but considering factors such as public health and sa...

In 2012, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) of India and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) launched the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS), which requires manufacturers of electronic and IT products to submit registration application to BIS before placing their products on the Indian market. After obtaining registration approval, BIS allows manufacturers to declare that their products comply with Indian standards. CRS registration does not re...

The full name of Indian ISI certification is Indian Standards Institution, which is the most stringent type of BIS certification, including factory audits and product testing. ISI certification has a mandatory product catalogue covering building materials, chemicals, household appliances, medical equipment, vehicle parts, food, etc. Products listed in the ISI mandatory catalogue must obtain a license granted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) before they can be placed o...

On 23 December 2021, the European Union has released the COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2021/2045 to amend the Entry 4-7 (DEHP, BBP, DBP and DIBP) to REACH Annex XIV. The amendments are as follows: Entry Nr Substance Intrinsic property(ies) referred to in Article 57 Transitional arrangements Exempted (categories of) uses Review periods Latest application date Sunset date 4 Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) EC No: 204-211-0 CAS No: 117-81-7 Toxic for reproduction (category 1B) E...

8 Jul. 2021, ECHA has added 8 substances into the Candidate List of SVHCs. The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) now contains 219 substances that may have serious effects on people or the environment. Eight substances added to the Candidate List for authorisation: Substance Name EC No. CAS No. Reason for Inclusion Examples of Uses 2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)propionaldehyde and its individual stereoisomers - - Toxic for reproduction (Article 57 c) Cleaning...

18 June 2021, the European Commission has submitted a notification on amending Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation and proposed to include 5 additional substances into the REACH Authorization List. These five substances are: Entry No. Substance Intrinsic property(ies) referred to in Article 57 Lastest Application Date Sunset Date Exempted Uses 55 Tetraethyllead EC No.: 201-075-4 CAS No.: 78-00-2 Toxic to Reproduction (Category 1A) 18 months after entry into force of this amend...

Recently, ECHA Enforcement Forum agreed that its major enforcement project planned for 2022 (REF-10) will focus on integrated controls of consumer products. The Forum agreed that inspectors will be able to check whether products comply with many different restrictions for hazardous substances under REACH and POPs. Specific types of material such as rubber, plastic or textiles, are subject to the duties under REACH and POPs. In this way each product can be controlled by sever...

9 March 2021, ECHA has released a proposal for eight chemical substances to be identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC). Member States or ECHA, on request of the European Commission, may propose a substance to be identified as an SVHC by preparing a dossier in accordance with the requirements set out in Annex XV to REACH. All interested parties are invited to submit comments on such reports during the consultation. The proposal is now under public consultation an...

In February 2021, the government commissioned an evaluation expert team to verify the CMA qualification of C&K Testing Laboratory. C&K Testing has successfully passed the on-site review of all testing items of VOCs new national standards in this application for expansion, and has obtained the qualification of China Inspection Body and Laboratory Mandatory Approval (CMA) for testing relevant standards for coatings, inks, adhesives and cleaning agents, etc. On July 3,...

19 Jan. 2021, ECHA has added 2 substances into the Candidate List of SVHCs. The additions include two substances that are toxic to reproduction. The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) now contains 211 substances that may have serious effects on people or the environment. Substances added to the Candidate List for authorisation on 19 Jan 2021: Substance Name EC No. CAS No. Reason for Inclusion Examples of Uses Bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)ether 205-594-...

In 2018, in order to speed up the improvement of environmental air quality, State Council proposed the "three-year action plan to fight air pollution". On May 15th, 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "2020 Volatile Organic Compounds Governance Plan (Draft for Comments)", which clearly stated that from July 1st, 2020, the production, sales and use of ship coatings and floor coatings should meet the newly promulgated and implemented national product harmf...

The European Commission validated 235 RASFF notifications this month, including 210 notifications on food, accounting for 89.36%; 16 notifications on feed, accounting for 6.81%; 9 notifications on food contact materials (FCMs), accounting for 3.83%. 6 of the FCM products are from China, accounting for 77.78%. The prime hazards for FCMs are migration of elements. There are more details on FCM notifications as below: Date Reference Notified by Product Subject Action Taken Noti...

25 Jun. 2020, ECHA has added 4 substances into the Candidate List of SVHCs. The additions include three substances that are toxic to reproduction and one endocrine disruptor. The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) now contains 209 substances that may have serious effects on people or the environment. Substances added to the Candidate List for authorisation on 25 June 2020: Substance Name EC No. CAS No. Reason for Inclusion Examples of Uses 1-vinylimida...

41 batches of imported children's products with unqualified formaldehyde content, pH value, etc., involving Brand H&M, ZARA, Lego, Qiaohu On May 30th, 2020, General Administration of Customs, P.R.China announced the quality and safety of some imported children’s products that were unqualified by the customs from January to May 2020, involving 6 category of 41 batches imported children’s products such as clothing and toys, etc. Unqualified imported children's products...

Recently, European Safety Federation has published an article on its official website regarding "counterfeiting" CE certificate of some current personal protective equipment (PPE). The article made it clear that protective masks (type FFP2 or FFP3), protective glasses and face shields, protective gloves and garments, etc., should meet the requirements of REACH Regulation besides the CE certification. In the following, C&K Testing will fully interpret the duties and oblig...