ECHA’s Enforcement Forum has started work on a pilot project targeted 7 substances, including phthalates and retardants. The purpose is to verify the compliance with the notification and communication obligations of substances in articles in REACH.

The project aims to:

• Check compliance of producers, importers and suppliers of articles with their obligations (REACH Articles 7 and 33);
• Raise awareness and understanding of legal obligations and the level of compliance among duty holders;
• Build a better picture of the actual level of compliance by suppliers of articles;
• Identify reasons for non-compliance and decide whether ECHA, the Commission or member states competent authorities need to do more, such as providing support to duty holders;
• Gather experience and establish enforcement methods for a potential future large-scale check of these obligations.

This project will mainly inspect electrical products, building materials and interior articles as examples of consumer goods, and it focuses on the following substances:

• Brominated flame retardants;
• Phosphorous flame retardants;
• Short-chain chloroparaffins;
• Phthalates;
• Aprotic polar solvents;
• Perfluorinated substances;
• Phenolic benzotriazoles.

The enforcement pilot runs from October 2017 to June 2018, and a report of the results is expected by the end of next November.

|Further Information: