EU published draft amendment to Annex XVII to REACH

On July 16, 2012, The European Commission has notified the WTO of a draft amendment to Annex XVII of REACH. The draft proposal clarifies reasons of amendment for certain entries, as well as updates new standards on azocolorants and azodyes, concerning testing methods to determine aromatic amines derived from azocolorants.

Comments on the draft are invited for 60 days following notification. The Commission proposes that the amendments will be adopted during the first quarter of 2013.

Some amendments are extracted for your reference:

1. The word “mixture” is added into entry 6 in order to keep the control scope of this entry in line with 76/769/EEC.

2. Entries of 16 and 17 now apply not only to the use of lead carbonates and lead sulphates in paints for restoration and maintenance of works of art and historic buildings and their interiors but also to the placing on the market in order to allow those paints to be available for restoration and maintenance works as well.

3. (EU) No 519/2012 amending Regualtion (EC) No 850/2004 added short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) to Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on persistent organic pollutants in result that placing on the market and use of SCCPs is prohibited. But entry 42 in Annex XVII to (EC) No 1907/2006 only restricts two uses of SCCPs that are now banned under (EU) No 850/2004. Therefore, entry 42 has become superfluous and should be deleted.

4. Entry 56 should add CAS and EC numbers for specific isomers of methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI).

5. New standards concerning the testing methods for azocolourants and azodyes adopted by the European Committee for Standardisation is to be updated into Appendix 10 to Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

For detail, please refer to the following link:
http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2012/tbt/EEC/12_2717_00_e.pdf