Product Stewardship

REACH standards for the Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). It entered into force on 1 June 2007.

REACH is relevant and binding for GF PS activities in the EU as well as for export into the EU. Under REACH, manufacturers and importers are obliged to register with the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) substances on their own, in preparations or in articles that they produce or import in quantities over 1 tonne per year (per manufacturer/ importer), unless the substance is exempted from registration.

Reminder: Since Switzerland is not a member of the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA), EU REACH regulation does not apply. Switzerland has its own chemical regulations adopting REACH-like registration requirements. Please refer to Swiss Chemicals Ordinance (ChemO).

1.1 Candidate List substances

Substances fulfilling one or more of the criteria defined in Article 57 of the REACH Regulation can be identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) and put on the Candidate List for authorisation. These SVHC can be:

         i. substances meeting the criteria for classification as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) category 1A or 1B

        ii. persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substances

      iii. substances identified on a case-by-case basis for which there is scientific evidence of probable serious effects to human health or the environment which give rise to an equivalent level of concern, e.g. endocrine disruptors

The Candidate List is available on the website of ECHA: Candidate List of substances of very high concern for Authorisation - ECHA (europa.eu). It has been established according to the procedure described in Article 59 of the REACH Regulation (SVHC identification). If a substance listed on the Candidate List is contained in articles, it triggers communication and notification obligations for EU producers and importers into the EU of articles that contain the substance, under certain conditions. This requirement aims at ensuring the safe use of chemicals in produced and imported articles and ultimately contributing to the reduction of the risks for human health and the environment.

1.2 Annex XIV (Authorisation List) and Annex XVII (Restriction List)

A Candidate List substance, which was subsequently placed in Annex XIV (Authorisation List) of REACH, cannot be placed on the market or used after a given date (sunset date), unless an authorisation is granted for a specific use, or the use is exempted from authorisation. Any EU producer of articles that incorporates such a substance into the produced articles, either as such or in a mixture, needs to check if such a use will require authorisation after the sunset date. The list of substances subject to authorisation in Annex XIV is available on the ECHA website: Authorisation List - ECHA (europa.eu)

The content of substances in articles can be restricted or banned under the restrictions procedure. Article producers and importers have the obligation to comply with the restrictions and conditions set out in Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation. The list of substances subject to restrictions in Annex XVII is available on the ECHA website: Substances restricted under REACH - ECHA (europa.eu)

RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. The RoHS Directive restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

The original RoHS, also known as Directive 2002/95/EC, originated in the European Union in 2002 and restricts the use of six hazardous materials found in electrical and electronic products.

Directive 2011/65/EU was published in 2011 by the EU, which is known as RoHS-Recast or RoHS 2. RoHS 2 includes a CE-marking directive, with RoHS compliance now being required for CE marking of products. RoHS 2 also added EEE Categories 8 and 9, and has additional compliance recordkeeping requirements.

Effective July 22, 2019, the revised RoHS directive (Directive 2015/863 from 31March 2015, also known as RoHS 3) covers additional substances as well as additional categories of electrical and electronic equipment.

EEE is defined as " … electrical and electronic equipment' which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1 000 volts for alternating current and 1 500 volts for direct current". EEE can be a component or assembly used in a finished product. Cables and spare parts for repairing, reusing, updating or upgrading a product are all EEE.

The maximum concentration limits of RoHS restricted substances applies to "homogenous materials" in electrical and electronic equipment. The term "homogeneous material" is defined as "… one material of uniform composition throughout or a material, consisting of a combination of materials, that cannot be disjointed or separated into different materials by mechanical actions such as unscrewing, cutting, crushing, grinding and abrasive processes".

In recent years there has been increased concern that the exploitation and trade of certain minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries are helping to finance armed conflict characterized by extreme levels of violence. Tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold are commonly referred to as "conflict minerals" regardless of their country of origin.

In August 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published final rules under section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. According to this section, companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges are obliged to disclose the use of what are known as Conflict Minerals. The idea behind this is to end armed conflicts.

On 1 January 2021 a new law applies across the EU – the Conflict Minerals Regulation. It imposes mandatory requirements on importers of conflict minerals to observe due diligence obligations from 2021. Its aim is to ensure that conflict minerals were obtained without the use of forced or child labor and that the relevant proceeds are not used for the financing of armed groups.

GF Piping Systems is committed to responsible sourcing and to assisting our customers in their compliance with these regulations.

4.1 SCIP Database- Waste framework directive

SCIP is the database for information on Substances of Concern In articles as such or in complex objects (Products) established under the Waste Framework Directive (WFD). Companies supplying articles containing substances of very high concern (SVHCs) on the Candidate List in a concentration above 0.1% weight-by-weight (w/w) on the EU market have to submit information on these articles to ECHA, as from 5 January 2021. The SCIP database ensures that the information on articles containing Candidate List substances is available throughout the whole lifecycle of products and materials, including at the waste stage. The information in the database is then made available to waste operators and consumers.

Below the SCIP numbers lists available for the products containing SVHC. Please be aware that the SCIP numbers are not available for all concerned products.

4.2. Marine environment

4.2.1 IMO resolution MEPC. 269(68) – Guidelines for the development of the inventory of the hazardous materials

This resolution was adopted on 15 May 2015 and provides recommendations for developing the Inventory of Hazardous Materials to assist compliance with regulation 5 (Inventory of Hazardous Materials) of the Hong Kong International Convention.

The objectives of the Inventory are to provide ship-specific information on the actual hazardous materials present on board, in order to protect health and safety and to prevent environmental pollution at ship recycling facilities. This information will be used by the ship recycling facilities in order to decide how to manage the types and amounts of materials identified in the Inventory of Hazardous Materials

4.2.2 EU Ship recycling regulation (EU) 1257/2013

The purpose of this Regulation is to prevent, reduce, minimize and eliminate accidents, injuries and other adverse effects on human health and the environment caused by ship recycling. It lays down rules aimed at enhancing safety, the protection of human health and of the European Union marine environment throughout a ship′s life-cycle, in particular to ensure the proper management of hazardous materials on ships and that hazardous waste from such ship recycling is subject to environmentally sound management.

4.3. POP regulation - Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants

The POP Regulation bans or restricts the use of persistent organic pollutants in both chemical products and articles. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic substances that persist in the environment, accumulate in living organisms and pose a risk to our health and the environment.

4.4. Ingredients of animal origin – (EU) 142/2011 and (EC) 1069/2009

Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 lays down animal and public health rules for animal by-products and products derived thereof. Regulation EU) 142/2011  lays down implementing measures for Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009