26 September 2024 - News release Highlights from September RAC and SEAC meetings

ECHA/NR/24/24

The Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) reached provisional conclusions on the proposed restriction of PFAS in the petroleum and mining sector. RAC also adopted its opinion on the harmonised classification and labelling of Talc, recommending carcinogenicity as the most stringent classification.

Helsinki, 26 September 2024 - In their September meetings, RAC and SEAC discussed the following sectors from the EU-wide proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) :

• Petroleum and mining;
• Textiles, upholstery, leather, apparel and carpets; and
• Food contact material and packaging.

The committees provisionally concluded on their evaluation of the petroleum and mining sector. Discussions on the other two sectors - textiles, upholstery, leather, apparel and carpets, and food contact material and packaging - will continue in the next meetings.

RAC agreed to revise how PFAS emissions are calculated across different sectors with a focus on the waste stage, for example emissions from waste disposal and incineration. The revised approach emphasises the need to distinguish between PFAS particle emissions (solid) and those that leach from materials. This distinction is important because the concerns related to fluoropolymer particles differ from those associated with non-polymeric PFAS.

The committees also announced the sectors they will evaluate in the upcoming meetings. In November, they will discuss construction products for the first time. After November, the next sectors for discussion are:

• Applications of fluorinated gases;
• Transport; and
• Energy.

Harmonised classification and labelling

RAC adopted 13 opinions on harmonised classification and labelling of hazardous substances. One of these was on Talc, where the committee recommends adding the following classification:

• Carcinogen 1B, H350 (may cause cancer); and
• STOT RE 1, H372 (a substance that causes damage to lungs through prolonged or repeated exposure via inhalation).

RAC assessed a vast database of information on Talc and concluded that there is sufficient evidence that exposure to Talc may cause cancer. This conclusion was based on limited data from animal studies (lung tumours in female rats exposed via inhalation) and human studies (ovarian tumours in women following genital/perineal use).

RAC also considered whether the classification for carcinogenicity should apply to a specific route (or routes) of exposure only. Under the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation, classification for carcinogenicity applies by default to all routes of exposure unless it can be conclusively proven that other exposure routes do not lead to the same hazard. In this case, there was not enough information available to confirm or exclude the possibility that other exposure routes, including the oral route, may lead to the hazard observed. Therefore, the classification opinion does not designate any one route of exposure.

Other outcomes of the September meetings:

• RAC and SEAC adopted 24 opinions on applications for authorisation and review reports for authorisation on chromates.
• RAC agreed on 13 draft opinions and SEAC on 10 draft opinions on applications for authorisation and review reports for authorisation.
• RAC adopted two opinions on occupational exposure limits (OELs).

More details about these opinions can be found in the annex. Listen also to our Safer Chemicals Podcast with the RAC Chair Roberto Scazzola and the Chair of SEAC, María Ottati.

Press contact: Hanna-Kaisa Torkkeli, [email protected], +358 50 416 8585

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