PAHs in Europe

On 6 December 2013, Commission Regulation (EU) No 1272/2013 was published on the Official Journal which extended the restriction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) to rubber or plastic components in articles that come into direct and prolonged or short-term repetitive contact with human skin or the oral cavity, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. This regulation has also amended the REACH regulation by adding the PAHs requirements under entry 50 of Annex XVII of REACH. The new requirements shall be effective from 27 December 2015. This requirement is summarized as below:

PAHs, CAS No.	Restricted in rubber or plastic components in articles with prolonged skin contact	Requirement (each PAH)
. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), 50-32-8 . Benzo[e]pyrene (BeP), 192-97-2 . Benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), 56-55-3 . Chrysen (CHR), 218-01-9 . Benzo[b]flouranthene (BbFA), 205-99-2 . Benzo[j]flouranthene (BjFA), 205-82-3 . Benzo[k]flouranthene (BkFA), 207-08-9 . Dibenzo[a,h]anthrcene (DBAhA), 53-70-3	Ø    Toys including activity toys and childcare articles	£ 0.5 mg/ kg
	Ø    Sport equipment such as bicycles, golf clubs, racquets Ø    House-hold utensils, trolleys, walking frames Ø    Tools for domestic use Ø    Clothing, footwear, gloves and sportswear Ø    Watch-straps, wrist-bands, masks, head-bands	£ 1 mg/ kg

These PAHs are present as impurities in some of the raw materials used in the production of plastic and rubber parts of a wide range of consumer products, in particular in extender oils and in carbon black. They are not added intentionally to the articles and do not perform any specific function. These PAHs are banned for sale as substances on their own or in mixtures to the general public by entry 28 of Annex XVII to REACH. Entry 50 of Annex XVII to REACH already restricted the presence of PAHs in extender oils used for the production of tyres.

Effective Date:	27 December 2015
Scope:	Rubber or plastic with prolonged skin contact
Hazard:	PAHs
Limit:	Refer to above details
Risk:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon