European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recommends 34 bisphenols be classified as substances of very high concern (SVHCs) as a group; three of the bisphenols already individually classified as SVHCs; for some bisphenols, more data necessary before classification; group classification can help avoid regrettable substitution
ChemSec’s advice to speed up SVHC listing
NGO International Chemical Secretariat urges European Chemicals Agency’s director to encourage ‘better use’ of precautionary principle in order to speed up SVHC identification, resist industry pressure
ECHA consults on identification of 8 SVHCs
ECHA opens public consultation on proposals to identify 8 substances of very high concern; deadline for comments April 23, 2018; 5 substances relevant for food contact
Technical solutions for studying microplastics
Overview papers discuss characterization and identification of microplastics by techniques based on (micro-)Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
Canada identifies four parabens for toxic substances list
Government publishes draft screening assessment of 7 parabens, identifies 4 to present danger to human health or environment at current levels of exposure; proposed risk management published; findings open for public comment until May 13, 2020
Restriction proposal for 6 PFASs
Swedish and German agencies propose restricting 6 per- and polyfluorinated substances, as well as mixtures and articles containing them; ECHA opens public consultation until June 20, 2018
New method to identify set-off migration of printing inks
New method allows identifying migration of photoinitiators, certain photoinitiators and darker colors are more susceptible to set-off migration
High PFAS blood levels in German children
Biomonitoring study by German Environment Agency (UBA) measures 12 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in blood plasma of children and adolescents; finds highest average levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)
REACH not able to identify EDCs, recommendations for improvement
Danish Minister for the Environment submits input for the REACH review on EDCs to Danish parliament, report suggests inclusion of further endpoints and adding of dose levels
Washington state identifies priority products
State’s Department of Ecology (DoE) publishes priority consumer products report for legislature, prioritizes bisphenols used in food and drink linings