On September 23, 2020, the European Commission submitted a notification of G/TBT/N/EU/749 to the WTO. This notification aims to amend the list of restricted substances in Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation. The use of formamide (DMF) as a substance or in a mixture is restricted.

The draft will take effect 20 days after the official gazette is published, with a two-year buffer period, which will be officially implemented 24 months after its entry into force.

Public consultation period for the draft: 60 days.

Common uses of DMF

DMF is a very widely used aprotic polar solvent. It can not only be used as paint remover and dye solvent, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile and polyvinyl chloride slurry, but also used for the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates, plating Hardening of tin parts and cleaning of circuit boards, etc.

Annex 17 of the REACH Regulation intends to add the following contents:

Current status of DMF control

CLP regulations: Reproductive toxicity, acute toxicity and eye irritation substances.

SVHC list: notification threshold 0.1%.

REACH Appendix XVII: Entry 72, Controlled Products: Clothing or related accessories, textiles (in contact with human skin and the degree is similar to clothing), footwear, limit value: 3000mg/kg.

ZRLK recommends:

Enterprises exporting to Europe should actively take risk management measures to control exposure risks, and avoid related products that cannot be exported due to excessive DMF content.