Among the objectives of the CLP Regulation are (i) to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment and (ii) the free movement of substances, mixtures and certain articles.
In order to do so, new hazard classes and their criteria for classification are introduced regularly, bringing EU Chemical Legislation into line with technical and scientific progress.
In order to provide clarity, the European Commission has this time decided to publish in a single act/document the new list of harmonized measures on devices and protection systems in potentially explosive environments.
Commission Implemented Decision (EU) 2022/1668 of 28 September 2022 establishes new harmonized standards for equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmosphere under Directive 2014/34/EU of the EU Parliament and of the Council on the Equipment for Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX Regulation).
Regulation (EU) 2020/878, which modifies Annex II of the REACH Regulation and establishes new requirements for the safety data sheets of chemical products in the European Union, has been in effect for the last two years. It came into force on January 1, 2021, and since then there are many of you who are already making changes required by the new regulations in your SDS , which include:
The decree No. 2022-748 introduces a new consumer information system on the environmental impact of products during the act of purchase.
In 2020, France approved its "Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law " - AGEC for its acronym in French, whose main objective is "to create a more sustainable consumption model", and which is articulated around five measures which will be progressively implemented in the coming years:
The list has recently added a new entry, N-(hydroxymethyl) acrylamide, due to its carcinogenic and mutagenic properties.
The Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern - SVHC contains a list of chemicals that are considered harmful to the environment and to human health. These substances may be eventually placed on the Authorisation List and, therefore, its use would be prohibited unless companies apply for authorisation.
The EU Commission clarify the definition of nanomaterials in the new Commission Recommendation of 10.06.2022 to support a “coherent EU regulatory framework for nanomaterials”.
And the fact is that, although their peculiar physicochemical properties make them a powerful source of innovation, their use can increase the toxicity of the products, or even require a more complex protocol to guarantee their safe use.
