Background
The European Commission originally published Regulation (EU) 2003/53/EC in June 2003, NP and NPEO was added to Annex I of 76/769 / EEC. Then 76/769/EEC was repealed in June 2009 and the requirements of NP and NPEO were added to Article 46 of Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) 1907/2006.
Latest Progress
On the 14th of January 2016, the European Commission released (EU) 2016/26 to amend Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 regarding NPEO. It requires that textiles with more than 0.01% NPEO will be prohibited from entering EU market from the 3rd of February 2021. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The detail of entry 46 and the added entry 46a of Annex XVII are as follows.
| Name | Scope and Conditions of Restriction |
| entry 46 nonylphenol C6H4(OH)C9H19 nonylphenol thoxylates (C2H4O)nC15H24O | Shall not be placed on the market, or used, as substances or in mixtures in concentrations equal to or greater than 0,1 % by weight for the following purposes: industrial and institutional cleaning ; domestic cleaning; extiles and leather processing; mulsifier in agricultural teat dips; metal working; manufacturing of pulp and paper; cosmetic products; other personal care products; co-formulants in pesticides and biocides. |
| added entry 46a nonylphenol thoxylates (C2H4O)nC15H24O | 1. Shall not be placed on the market after 3 February 2021 in textile articles which can reasonably be expected to be washed in water during their normal lifecycle, in concentrations equal to or greater than 0,01 % by weight of that textile article or of each part of the textile article. 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the placing on the market of second-hand textile articles or of new textile articles produced, without the use of NPE, exclusively from recycled textiles. 3. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, “textile article” means any unfinished, semi-finished or finished product which is composed of at least 80 % textile fibres by weight, or any other product that contains a part which is composed of at least 80 % textile fibres by weight, including products such as clothing, accessories, interior textiles, fibres, fabrics and knitted panels.’ |
Risk Analysis
NP is usually used as an antioxidant in polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride in order to increase the plastic stability and toughness. Also, PCB, rubber, and cleaning agents may contain it.
NPEO is non-ionic surface active agent with good performance, which is widely used in industrial cleaning, textile printing and dyeing, papermaking, leather chemical, oil additives, pesticide, emulsion polymerization amongst others.