Dealers Must Provide Information about SVHCs
DEKRA: Authorities conduct checks Europe-wide
DEKRA: Authorities conduct checks Europe-wide
Dealers Must Provide Information about SVHCs
15. Dec 2021
The European market surveillance authorities have launched a project aimed at enforcing the REACH regulation. The checks will focus on the obligations to provide information about substances of very high concern (“SVHCs”) in products. To ensure legal certainty, DEKRA advises importers to systematically record all of the materials used in the supply chain.
The checks will primarily affect importers of electrical products, building products as well as fixtures and furnishings, although DEKRA experts state that the EU project, which is initially scheduled to run until June 2018, also focuses on the dealers and manufacturers of such products.
The REACH regulation – Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 – contains provisions not only for substances and mixtures (“chemicals”) but also for the putting into circulation of products. A key element of this regulation is the obligation – in accordance with Article 33 – to inform customers when a product contains substances specified on the “candidate list.” These SVHCs are deemed especially hazardous because they may be carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction.
Importers who procure their products from Asia often do not receive reliable information about SVHCs from their suppliers and so have to determine whether their products contain an SVHC in a concentration of ≥ 0.1%. The reference figure for this limit is not the overall weight of the product, but the weight of the individual component.
DEKRA advises a material-specific approach because information about materials is usually readily available in the supply chain. Depending on the material, the number of potential SVHCs can be significantly reduced. DEKRA has developed a database that contains more than 150 common materials and, for each material, provides a statement regarding the probability of the material containing an SVHC. The IT system house iPoint offers a cloud-based app for this. A free test version with a limited material selection can be downloaded from iPoint’s homepage.
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