REACH

The objectives of REACH are compatible with the industry’s commitment to Responsible Care and increasing public access to information on chemicals. Three regimes are now co-existing in Europe and Turkey: EU REACH applies to the 27 EU Member States and the 3 countries participating in the EEA (European Economic Area – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), UK and Turkey REACH apply to Great Britain and Turkey, respectively.

REACH requires industry to mitigate risks from chemicals by providing information on their properties and risks and registering that data with the relevant authorities (European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for EU REACH, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under UK REACH). What this means, in effect, is that the responsibility for ensuring that chemicals are used safely is shifted from the regulatory authorities to the manufacturers and importers of chemicals.

The goal of REACH is to provide a greater level of protection for humans and the environment by ensuring that proper information on handling, storage and use together with risk management measures, if appropriate, are readily available.

Use communication summary

One of the new aspects that the REACH Regulation introduced is the sharing of Use information between Manufacturers/Importers and Downstream Users.  The intent of this process is to ensure that, supported Uses and safe use advice for all products are included in REACH registration dossier and the REACH formatted Safety Data Sheets. All ExxonMobil products considered as hazardous in accordance with CLP (Classification, Labelling and Packaging EU 1272/2008) and /or defined as PBT (Persistent, Bioaccumalative and Toxic) or vPvB (very Persistent, very Bioaccumalative), has information about supported uses and safe use advice in the Safety Data Sheet available on internet.

To help facilitate the sharing of Use information, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has developed a range of REACH Use Descriptors.  These Use Descriptors are designed to describe how products are used in the supply chain.  More information on Use Descriptors can be found on the website of the ECHA Guidance on REACH.

In Industrial Use, workers might be expected to have a high standard of competence, qualifications and skills and there is a high standard of supervision and control as well as a high standard of technical (risk management) measures available. Resulting exposures and emissions can be expected to be predictable and well-managed.

In Professional Use, workers have various/different competences, qualifications and skills and there are lower or varying standard of supervision and control as well as lower standard of technical (risk management) measures. Resulting exposures and emissions will often be higher than those encountered in Industrial settings.

In Consumer Use, there is little expertise/fewer skills for implementing measures and no technical measures and no individual protection (except for gloves or protective glasses in certain cases). The control of exposures and emissions cannot therefore be expected to rely on strategies which demand trained users or access to specific equipment.

Several known Uses of products are covered by multiple REACH Use Descriptors. To facilitate common understanding, Industry associations have clustered these Use Descriptors and assigned Generic Use Titles to the resultant clusters. Each of these Industry associations has then mapped these generic titles to specific manufacturing processes and Uses applicable to their industry.

The terminology referenced in these Generic Use Titles use phrases which may be more meaningful to you as a Downstream User and should help you to recognize your application. To aid this recognition you’ll find a short description and the associated REACH Use descriptors codes behind each title.

Candidate list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) under EU and UK REACH (June 2024)

EU REACH Status of Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC)

On November 7^th, 2024, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) added 1 new substance to the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for eventual inclusion on the Annex XIV List of Substances subject to Authorization. This brings the total number of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) on the Candidate List to 242.

UK REACH Status of Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC)

The UK Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) contains 209 SVHCs. The UK Candidate List has not been updated since the implementation of UK REACH on January 1st, 2021 and currently contains the same SVHCs as on the EU Candidate List up to December 2020.

Obligations related to SVHCs under EU/UK REACH

Following the inclusion of an SVHC in the EU/UK Candidate List according to Article 59(1) of EU/UK REACH, additional information requirements apply for concerned products according to Article 31 (Safety Data Sheets) and Article 33 (Substances in articles) of REACH.

Article 31 of REACH requires suppliers to provide Safety Data Sheets for substances and mixtures classified as hazardous and for substances identified as SVHCs. Article 31 requires the supply of Safety Data Sheets at the request of a recipient, for mixtures containing a SVHC in an individual concentration of ≥ 0.1% by weight. It also requires additional information for substances identified as PBT or vPvB or for substances “of equivalent concern” that are listed on the Candidate List per Article 57(f).

According to our records, no ExxonMobil branded products supplied by ExxonMobil in EU Member States, EEA countries (Note 1) or Great Britain, other than those listed in the below attachments, contain a SVHC, which would trigger these information requirements under EU/UK REACH, respectively.

Any Candidate List SVHC identified as being present in ExxonMobil products will be mentioned in the relevant sections of the Safety Data Sheet. Any ExxonMobil branded products known to contain a SVHC at levels triggering obligations under Article 31 of REACH are identified in the below attachments.

Article 33 further requires suppliers of articles to communicate information on substances in articles that are listed on the Candidate List. Article 33.1 requires that any supplier of an article containing a SVHC in a concentration above 0.1 % weight by weight (w/w) provides the recipient of the article with sufficient information, available to the supplier, to allow safe use of the article including, as a minimum, the name of that substance. Article 33.2 requires similar information to be provided to consumers upon request.

Based upon the above regarding Article 33 and the information currently available, we have no evidence that any ExxonMobil branded products supplied by ExxonMobil within the EU Member States, EEA countries (Note 1) and Great Britain contain any of the substances identified on the Candidate List at levels which would require action under Article 33 of REACH, with the exception of the products listed in the below attachments.

Notes

(1) European Economic Area: Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein

The information contained above is provided in good faith. No representations or warranties are made as to its completeness or accuracy. ExxonMobil will not be liable for any damages resulting from the use of or reliance on the information.