REACH Committee Approves Authorization For Lead Pigments Despite NGOs' Efforts

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/swa-announces-new-chemical-database-...
National Law Review
29 August 2016
 
REACH Committee Approves Authorization For Lead Pigments Despite NGOs' Efforts
 
On July 6-7, 2016, the majority of REACH Committee members voted to approve the EC's draft Implementing Decision, which granted authorization for uses of two lead chromate pigments, lead sulfochromate yellow and lead chromate molybdate sulfate red. The draft Implementing Decision provided Dominion Color Corporation, the applicant, a review period of seven years for all uses of the substances. This timeframe has been reduced to four years for use in road markings.
 
IPEN and the International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec), and the Health and Environmental Alliance (HEAL), ClientEarth, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), and several other non-governmental organizations (NGO) issued letters to the REACH Committee discouraging authorization of the lead chromates ahead of the REACH Committee meeting.
 
In its July 5, 2016, press release, NGO IPEN stated "[the EC] has issued a draft decision to the REACH Committee that would authorize use of two toxic lead pigments in the EU for non-consumer use, despite the availability of well-known alternatives." IPEN expressed that the REACH Committee should not have approved the Implementing Decision because:
 
    The EC's draft Implementing Decision disregards that there are known alternatives to lead chromates available;
 
    The health and environmental risks associated with the authorization are high; and
 
    The authorization creates an unacceptable precedent for REACH, and harms the global movement to eliminate lead chromates in paint.