EC Inventory: EINECS, ELINCS and NLP

European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances (EINECS), European List of Notified Chemical Substances (ELINCS) and No-longer Polymers (NLP) List are 3 very important chemical inventories in Europe. Substances listed in EINECS/ELINCS/NLP are deemed as phase-in or existing substances in Europe and they can enjoy extened registration deadlines until 2018 if they were pre-registered under the EU REACH regulation. Substances that are not listed on the three lists shall be registered immediately before they can be be manufactured or imported into EU.

The ECB's system ESIS http://esis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ has stopped working. To access EINECS, ELINCS and NLP and find an EC number for your substance, you may click the link below provided by ECHA.

• http://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals/ec-inventory

More info about the 3 inventories can be found below:

European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances (EINECS)

This inventory includes chemical substances deemed to be on the European Community market between January 1, 1971 and September 18, 1981.

European List of Notified Chemical Substances (ELINCS)

This inventory consists of all chemical substances notified within the European Community after 18 September 1981. The finalized ELINCS was issued in 2009 and includes 5,292 notified substances in total.

No-longer Polymers (NLP) List

This is a list of substances which were previously considered to be polymers and later did not meet polymer criteria due to the change of definition of polymer in 1992. Thus the No-longer Polymers (NLP) list was drawn up, consisting of such substances that were commercially available between 18 September 1981 and 31 October 1993.

- See more at: http://www.chemsafetypro.com/Topics/EU/EU_Chemical_Inventory_EINECS_ELINCS_NLP.html

REACH SVHC List

Substances fulfilling one or more of the criteria defined in Article 57 of the REACH Regulation can be identified as "substances of very high concern" (SVHC) and put on the "candidate List for authorization" which is also called "REACH SVHC list". These SVHC can be:

• substances meeting the criteria for classification as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) category 1 or 2;
• persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBT) substances; or
• very persistent and very bio-accumulative (vPvB) substances;
• substances for which there is evidence for similar concern, such as endocrine disruptors.

SVHCs may be further included in the Authorization List (REACH Annex XVII) and become subject to authorization. These substances cannot be placed on the market or used after a given date, unless an authorization is granted for their specific use, or the use is exempted from authorisation.

Reminder 1: There are 3 important regulatory lists under REACH: REACH SVHC List, REACH Authorization List and REACH Restricted Substance List. Have you read about the other two lists?

Reminder 2: Since Switzerland is not a member of the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA), EU REACH regulation does not apply. Switzerland has its own chemical regulations adopting REACH-like registration and restriction requirements. Please refer to Swiss Chemicals Ordinance (ChemO) and Swiss Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance (ORRChem) for more info.

Current State of REACH SVHC List

The candidate list for authorization or SVHC list is updated frequently. There are 161 substances on the candidate list(last updated: 17 December 2014). Please click the picture below to download the latest REACH SVHC list. It also shows how to find out the date of inclusion for a substance on the list.

What does REACH SVHC list mean to you?

You shall closely monitor the update of SVHC list. You may have immediate legal obligations following inclusion of the substance on the REACH SVHC list.

If your article contains substance(s) included in the SVHC list in concentration above 0.1% (w/w), you need to fulfill the following obligations:

• Duty to communication information on SVHCs - REACH article 33;
• Notification of SVHC in articles to ECHA- REACH article 7(2);

It shall be noted that you also need to check if your products contain any substances on REACH restricted substance list.

More info about REACH SVHC list

EU REACH - Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006

REACH standards for the Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). It entered into force on 1 June 2007. The main aims of REACH are to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals. 

Summary of EU REACH Regulation

REACH regulation applies to all chemical substances on their own or in preparations as well as in articles(see below definition). It almost impacts every company doing business in or exporting to Europe.

Key elements of the EU REACH regulation include registration, evaluation, authorization, restriction and supply chain communication. Chemical suppliers and article suppliers have different obligations under REACH.

How to Comply with EU REACH Regulation

Reminder: Since Switzerland is not a member of the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA), EU REACH regulation does not apply. Switzerland has its own chemical regulations adopting REACH-like registration and restriction requirements. Please refer to Swiss Chemicals Ordinance (ChemO) and Swiss Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance (ORRChem) for more info.