A Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) is defined by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) as a “substance that may have serious and often irreversible effects on human health and the environment”. The substances on the candidate list are not banned, but if a product contains SVHCs in concentration over 0.1% weight, the manufacturer or importer must disclose the substances presence to the ECHA.
The candidate list of SVHCs is published in accordance with Article 59(10) of the REACH Regulation. Members of the ECHA can propose adding any substances that fulfil one or more criteria defined by REACH.
The SVHC candidate list is updated whenever a proposal is made to add a new substance to the list. The ECHA initiates a 45 day public consultation period to determine if the substance should be included. If there are no adverse comments, the substance is included. Otherwise, the decision is made by the European Commission.
Important groups of SVHCs on the candidate list include:
The full list of SVHCs can be found on the ECHA website.
REACH is a regulation that aims to protect human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals. It is enacted by the European Union and applied to industrial and consumer chemicals and formulations. Hohenstein helps brands, retailers and suppliers comply with the law.
Hohenstein offers testing, consulting and assessment services for regulatory compliance with REACH Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) requirements. We can also identify if a product falls under the SVHC requirements and integrate REACH/SVHC compliance into an overall testing program.