On the 21st of April 2016 the Europe Union submitted Circular G/TBT/N/EU/372 in order to amend Annex XVII under REACH Regulations by proposing a restriction on the placing on the market of BPA in thermal paper in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.02% by weight.

On the 4th of May 2016, the European Commission added restriction of bis(pentabromophenyl)ether (decaBDE) under Annex XVII to REACH Regulations by submitting Circular No. G/TBT/N/EU/375 to the World Trade Organisation (WTO): decaBDE Shall not be manufactured or placed on the market as a substance, shall not be used in the production of, or placed on the market in another substance as a constituent, a mixture, a products or any part thereof in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.1% by weight.

The restrictions are expected to be passed in the latter half of 2016 and the regulations shall enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Requirements of Regulations

Based on opinions recieved the following new entries are included in Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006:

Substances	Conditions of the restriction
Bisphenol A   CAS No 80-05-7 EC No 201-245-8	Shall not be placed on the market in thermal paper in a concentration equal to or greater than 0,02 % by weight after [date of entry into force 36 months]
Bis(pentabromophenyl)ether (decabromodiphenyl ether; decaBDE)   CAS No 1163-19-5 EC No 214-604-9	1. Shall not be manufactured or placed on the market as a substance on its own after [date – eighteen months after the entry into force of this Regulation].   2. Shall not be used in the production of, or placed on the market in: (a) another substance, as a constituent; (b) a mixture; (c) an article, or any part thereof, in a concentration equal to or greater than 0,1 % by weight, after [date – eighteen months after the entry into force of this Regulation] 3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to a substance, constituent of another substance or mixture that is to be used, or is used: (a) in the production of an aircraft before [date – 10 years after entry into force of this Regulation] (b) in the production of spare parts for either of the following: (i) an aircraft produced before [date – 10 years after entry into force of this Regulation] (ii) motor vehicles within the scope of Directive 2007/46/EC, agricultural and forestry vehicles within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(*) or machinery within the scope of Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(**), produced before [date – 18 months after the entry into force of this Regulation] 4. Sub-paragraph 2(c) shall not apply to any of the following: (a) articles placed on the market before [date – eighteen months after the entry into force of this Regulation] (b) aircraft produced in accordance with sub-paragraph 3(a) (c) spare parts of aircraft, vehicles or machines produced in accordance with sub-paragraph 3(b) (d) electrical and electronic equipment within the scope of Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council . 5. For the purposes of this entry ‘aircraft’ means one of the following: (a) a civil aircraft produced in accordance with a type certificate issued under Regulation (EU) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council or with a design approval issued under the national regulations of a contracting State of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), or for which a certificate of airworthiness has been issued by an ICAO contracting State under Annex 8 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, (b) a military aircraft.

The Commission also specifies BPA and decaBDE restrictions in other scopes, Enterprises are advised to make adjustments to ensure compliance .