EU regulations round up, July 2024 – New EU term of office may tighten chemical controls

PPCJ’s quarterly summary of the latest European regulation and legislation updates affecting the coatings industry 

By Keith Nuthall, International News Services 

As the European Union (EU) approaches its next five-year term (2024-9), with a new European Parliament already elected and a new European Commission taking office, probably on November 1, the EU executive has released important guidance on controlling harmful chemicals. These include paint and coatings ingredients, with a Commission ‘Communication’ on ‘the essential use concept in EU legislation dealing with chemicals’ [1] advising on how to decide whether a potentially dangerous substance is so useful and difficult to replace, it should not be banned. The policy paper’s goal, said a Commission note, was to allow “more time for the phase-out of uses that are essential for society [while helping] industry to steer and prioritise investments in innovative and sustainable chemicals.”

Meanwhile, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has looked ahead to future reforms by updating a report on key existing EU chemical regulatory weaknesses. The agency called for additional studies on protection against most harmful chemicals regarding neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity and endocrine disruption. And it wants more work on improving availability of chemical data regarding polymers; micro- and nano-sized materials; and new analytical methods for enforcement of safety rules [2]. 

This comes as ECHA’s biocidal products committee (BPC) has warned that companies are sometimes supplying insufficient data to secure EU-wide approval for biocides. The warning came after a June 4 meeting, where the committee rejected a renewal authorisation for medetomidine in antifouling products, although it did not specifically say this proposal failed over a dearth of data. The committee also approved the use of polymeric betaine in wood preservatives. 

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ECHA has, meanwhile, streamlined control procedures for biocides, which are commonly used in paints and coatings. It has from May started assessing whether a biocide is too dangerous to humans and the environment, while simultaneously considering whether there are practical alternatives to these chemicals. In the past, these analyses were conducted separately. The EU biocidal product regulation allows derogations from bans of up to five years for potentially harmful biocides that are tough to replace [3]. 

The European Commission has asked ECHA to assess the safety of an additional 31 chromium (VI) substances for potential additional restrictions, including five used in the paint and coating sector. These include coating ingredients potassium hydroxyoctaoxodizincatedichromate(1-); strontium chromate; and pentazinc chromate octahydroxide; along with dye chemicals potassium dichromate; and sodium dichromate. 

Meanwhile, (before the June election), the European Parliament has given its final approval to the EU’s classification, labelling and packaging of hazardous chemicals regulation (CLP), so that a substance containing more than one constituent would be assessed for hazards, checking known chemical constituents, as well as whole product. Final anticipated approval from the EU Council of Ministers is still awaited [4].  

ECHA has already included five new hazard classes in the revised CLP regulation within its IUCLID chemical data software, notably endocrine disruptors; persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT); very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB); persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT); and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM).  

Finally, the European Commission has launched a public consultation on whether and how EU controls on chemicals potentially used to make illicit narcotics might be expanded and strengthened, potentially impacting the supply of paint ingredients and chemicals used to make packaging and labels.