The European Union (EU) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 2022-05-02 about its Draft Commission Regulation amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH), regarding formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers.
The purpose of the amendment is to restrict the articles which formaldehyde or formaldehyde releasing substances have been intentionally added during production and that release formaldehyde into indoor air (or interior of a road vehicle) in concentrations higher than the limits established by the restriction.
Changes:
Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 will be amended by the Regulation to add a new entry, "Formaldehyde CAS No 50-00-0 EC No 200-001-8 and formaldehyde releasing substances".
The restrictions can be summarized as follows:
Articles |
Limit for Concentration of Formaldehyde Released |
Test Method |
Grace Period after the Effective Date of the Regulation |
Wood-based Articles and Furniture |
0.062 mg/m3 |
Measured in the Air of a Test Chamber at Conditions as Specified in the Regulation |
36 Months |
Other Than Wood-based Articles and Furniture |
0.08 mg/m3 |
||
Interior of Road Vehicles |
0.062 mg/m3 |
ISO 12219-1, ISO 12219-10 or an Equivalent Method |
48 Months |
Effective Date:
Proposed date of entry into force: 20 days from publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Effective date of the Regulation: 36 or 48 months thereafter, as specified in the above table.
References:
https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/G/TBTN22/EU888.pdf&Open=True
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2022/TBT/EEC/22_3131_01_e.pdf
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