ECHA Weekly: Highlights from February Biocidal Products Committee meeting

REACH

Next steps for PFAS restriction proposal

Following the screening of a large number of comments received during the consultation, we are now clarifying the next steps for the proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Europe under REACH.
Find out about the sectors and elements that will be discussed in the next three meetings of our scientific committees for Risk Assessment and for Socio-Economic Analysis.

Current activities on restrictions: formaldehyde guidelines

Requested by the European Commission, we are preparing guidelines to support companies in measurement of formaldehyde releases from articles and formaldehyde concentrations in the interior of vehicles. This is related to the Commission Regulation that amends Annex XVII to REACH (entry 77).

We expect to publish the guidelines within the first quarter of 2025.

Testing proposals

We have launched 20 new consultations on testing proposals. The deadline for comments is 22 April 2024.

CLP

Consultation on harmonised classification and labelling

We are looking for comments on the harmonised classification and labelling proposal for:

Have your say until 10 May 2024.

Biocides

European Commission Implementing Decision

The Commission has published its decision on addressing questions regarding the second comparative assessment of anticoagulant rodenticide biocidal products.

Our Biocidal Products Committee adopted its opinion on this assessment in June 2023.

ECHA

Safer Chemicals Podcast: One Health approach – part 2

Listen to a special episode of our Safer Chemicals Podcast done in cooperation with five EU scientific agencies on the One Health approach.

Find out why integrating human, animal, and environmental health is crucial for a safer world. Part 2 of the series is out now.

Others

Reminder: Public hearing on SCHEER guidelines on presence of phthalates in certain medical devices

The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) organises a public hearing on the guidelines on the presence of phthalates in certain medical devices in Brussels on 11 April 2024.

If you have expertise in this area, you can still register for the public hearing until 17 March 2024.

EU Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON)

Nanopinion: Hybrid metrology approach for nanomaterials characterisation

Read the latest Nanopinion by Dr Eleonora Cara and Dr Federico Ferrarese Lupi. They introduce sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) to produce innovative nanomaterials and discuss the hybrid metrology approach for the multidimensional characterisation of nanomaterials and its potential applications across various industries.