Call for evidence and workshop on the Commission Roadmap to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessments
The European Commission is preparing a roadmap that ‘outline milestones and specific actions (legislative and non-legislative) to be implemented in the short to longer term to further reduce and ultimately phase out animal testing under all relevant pieces of chemical legislation (e.g. REACH, Biocidal Product Regulation, Plant Protection Products Regulation and human and veterinary medicines)’. The roadmaps should in particular set out a ‘path to expanding and accelerating the development, validation and implementation of non-animal methods as well as means to facilitate their uptake across legislation’. The Commission has launched a call for evidence to support the preparation of the roadmap, which is open until 15 October 2024. The call for evidence invites researchers to send research and data related to non-animal testing methods. To support the roadmap, the Commission also holds a series of workshops – the second one will be held in Brussels on 25 October 2024 (hybrid meeting – Albert Borschette Congress Center in Brussels + online. Registration open until 11 October) and a third one will be held in May 2025.
Restriction on PFHxA and related substances adopted
The restriction on undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), its salts and PFHxA-related substances, which was approved by the REACH Committee in February 2024, was adopted on 19 September. The restriction, which will start applying from 10 April 2026, bans the placing on the market of clothing and footwear for the general public, paper and cardboard used as food contact materials, mixtures for general public and cosmetic products containing 25 parts per billion or more of PFHxA and its salts or 1,000 parts per billion for all PFHxA-related substances two years after the entry into force of the Implementing Regulation (and three years for textiles other than clothing, with exemptions for PPE, medical devices and construction textiles). The restriction also bans the use of firefighting foams with PFHxA for training, testing and public fire services 18 months after the entry into force of the Regulation (except when fire services intervene at Seveso sites) and for civil aviation (including in civilian airports) five years after the entry into force of the Regulation.
Data needed to clarify PMT/vPvM hazard of alkoxysilyl carbamates
In its assessment of regulatory needs published on 18 September 2024, ECHA identified that certain alkoxysilyl carbamates were potentially PMT substances based on available data and proposes data generation to clarify the PMT hazard.
Upcoming consultation deadlines:
- Deadline to provide feedback to the call for evidence on the Commission Roadmap to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessments: 15 October 2024.
- Deadline to provide feedback on the harmonised classification of choline hydrogen phosphonate (PMT/vPvM listed in hazard classes open for commenting): 25 October 2024.
More information of upcoming actions related to persistent and mobile substances
For more information of regulations under the regulatory watch, as well as a Gantt Chart of the roll out, continuously updated spreadsheet and more information, please visit https://zeropm.eu/regulatory-watch/