ECHA Finds Most Inspected Products Sold Online Not in Compliance with Chemical Legislation
The Enforcement Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recently released a report on its 8th REACH-EN-FORCE (REF) project. Conducted from January through December of 2020, the project was focused on evaluating the compliance of certain BPR, CLP, and REACH duties related to articles, substances, and mixtures that are sold online. In this blog post, we take a look at the REF project and review some of its key non-compliance findings.
REACH-EN-FORCE Project
The REF project looked at companies selling hazardous articles, substances, and/or mixtures (falling under regulation requirements for BPR, CLP, and REACH) online.
- BPR: Biocidal Products Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products
- CLP: Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures
- REACH: Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals
Products selected for inclusion and inspection were those in alignment with individual Member State priorities and pertinent to the project’s scope.
Relevant authorities across 29 countries (listed in the table below) evaluated a total of 5,730 products.
| Country | Articles Inspected | Substances Inspected | Mistures Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 61 | 163 | 2560 |
| Sweden | 255 | - | 113 |
| Spain | 2 | 35 | 234 |
| Lithuania | 23 | 14 | 167 |
| Hungary | 39 | 14 | 135 |
| Czech Republic | 28 | 2 | 135 |
| Netherlands | - | 36 | 127 |
| Belgium | - | 6 | 148 |
| Luxembourg | 43 | 1 | 99 |
| Poland | 3 | 4 | 133 |
| Greece | 7 | 1 | 119 |
| Ireland | - | 1 | 122 |
| Italy | - | 15 | 100 |
| Slovakia | 47 | 5 | 50 |
| Norway | 68 | 1 | 22 |
| France | 39 | 5 | 44 |
| Finland | 55 | 1 | 30 |
| Denmark | 75 | - | - |
| Romania | 2 | 9 | 57 |
| Latvia | 16 | - | 34 |
| Croatia | - | - | 41 |
| Estonia | 4 | 1 | 29 |
| Liechtenstein | - | 1 | 30 |
| Republic of Cyprus | - | - | 25 |
| Slovenia | - | 7 | 16 |
| Austria | - | - | 22 |
| Portugal | - | - | 21 |
| Switzerland | - | - | 18 |
| Bulgaria | 9 | 1 | - |
Source: European Chemicals Agency
The project considered web shops, marketplaces, and other entities that sell hazardous articles, substances, and mixtures online. Of the 5,730 products inspected:
- 13% (776) of these were articles
- 6% (323) of these were substances
- 81% (4,631) of these were mixtures
- 50% (2,864) were found on marketplaces
- 49% (2,829) were found on web shops
Project Findings
The REF project yielded a number of key findings:
- 1,153 of the products were evaluated to check adherence to BPR obligations.
- 77% (891) of these were found to be non-compliant
- 2,752 of the products were evaluated to check adherence to CLP obligations.
- 75% (2,065) of these were found to be non-compliant
- 2,629 of the products were evaluated to check for REACH restrictions.
- 78% (2,042) of these were found to be non-compliant
Because inspections were largely focused on areas where lack of compliance was anticipated to be found, results are not necessarily representative of the entire online market.
In instances where non-compliances were detected, relevant authorities issued corresponding enforcement actions. Throughout the course of the project, approximately 5,000 enforcement actions were issued, with written advices constituting almost 60% of these.
Accessing More Information
The REF project represents an integral part of the ECHA's efforts to ensure compliance relative to e-commerce of hazardous chemicals. More information about the project may be found on the Agency’s website. Additionally, you can visit the ToxPlanet website and blog regularly for information on new developments. Also, be sure to contact us and register for a Free Trial.
