GÖTEBORG, Sweden--The International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec) and public interest organizations have released a list of “high concern” chemicals currently available on the market. The aim is to speed up implementation of REACH, the new EU chemicals law by encouraging companies to make sound substitution decisions. The list called REACH SIN List 1.0 (for Substitute It Now!), contains nearly 300 chemicals such as the plastic building block Bisphenol A, the brominated flame retardant DecaBDE, and the phthalate DEHP. The SIN List 1.0 is available online. “The SIN List 1.0 is the first collaborative effort to identify substances that meet the official REACH criteria for authorization,” said Per Rosander, Director of ChemSec, the NGO at the centre of the SIN-project. “For chemicals that are carcinogenic, persistent, bioaccumulative, the time for precautionary action is now! Companies need to take a proactive approach to replace these known culprits with safer alternatives.”
The objective of the public interest organizations involved in developing the SIN List 1.0 is to push for strict implementation of EU chemical legislation, and to provide guidance to European authorities, companies and consumers for taking action on the listed chemicals.