Until recently, these obligations applied if the SVHC was present in a concentration above 0.1% of the entire product’s mass.
On September 10, 2015, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that “each of the articles incorporated as a component of a complex product is covered by the relevant duties to notify and provide information when they contain a substance of very high concern in a concentration above 0.1% of their mass” (ECJ press release, 09/10/15). Thus, from now on the concentration limit of 0.1% does not merely apply to the whole product (e.g., bicycle), but also to the components (e.g., bicycle handlebar grip).
Precondition for the notification and information obligations is that the SVHC is on the REACH candidate list. Currently, there are 163 SVHC on the candidate list. On August 31, 2015, the European Chemicals Agency ECHA proposed seven new potential SVHC for Public Consultation.
It is expected that the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice will have a huge administrative impact on affected companies. Constantly monitoring REACH-related updates and provisions such as the ECJ’s recent court ruling, iPoint’s REACH solution is your ideal tool for REACH compliance.