Assessment of presence of CMR substances in certain categories of consumers' articles that could be subject of Article 68(2) of REACH : final report

This report provides an assessment of the presence of (potential) CMR substances in childcare articles, to help define the scope of a possible proposal for a restriction under article 68(2) or other possible risk management measures under REACH. The study included systematic collection of publicly available information and identified 2,018 combinations involving 122 individual substances and 83 types of childcare articles. Materials in which (potential) CMR were found were primarily synthetic polymers, textiles, surface coatings and metals. Over half (70%) of the combinations of substances and articles evaluated were concluded to have a potentially high likelihood of exposure to children. Another 19% of combinations were ranked with a 'medium' likelihood of exposure. The childcare articles associated with the likely highest exposures are bathing articles, bibs; bed and mattresses articles; followed by eating and drinking articles, teething articles and car seats. Substances involved in the highest number of combinations with high or medium exposures were: antimony (metal), tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) (flame retardant), di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) (plasticiser), formaldehyde (formaldehyde), 1,2-ethanediol (glycol) and diisononylphthalate (Bis-(7-methyloctyl)phthalate) (plasticiser). An assessment of the literature on (potential) CMR substances in carpets indicated that the most-identified CMR 1A/1B substances in carpets are formaldehyde, pentadecafluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctanyl sulphonic acid (and its salts), lead and nonadecafluorodecanoic acid. The most identified CMR 2 in carpets were acetaldehyde; diphenyl ether, octabromo derivative; naphthalene; phenol; and toluene. It can be concluded that CMR substances and potential CMR substances are present in childcare articles and carpets. However, their presence is targeted by legislative and non-legislative measures only on ad-hoc basis.