European Commission concludes EDC authorisation strict enough

Authorisation for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that are considered SVHCs is strict enough and the criteria does not need to be altered, the European Commission (EC) has concluded.

The EC has noted it will not propose changing REACH regulation to add EDCs to the list of substances for which there is no safe threshold for authorisation purposes. REACH Article 60(2) states that the EC may approve a chemical providing risks to human health and the environment are adequately controlled. The process is stricter for substances classed as SVHCs due to possible carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or reprotoxic properties, or where there is no safety threshold. For the latter, these chemicals can only be authorised if their socio-economic benefits outweigh the risks.

The EC analysed whether EDCs with equivalent concerns to SVHCs should be incorporated in the safety threshold group. However, following a review, the EC has responded suggesting that current legislation is sufficient and already allows for a case-by-case review/decision process.