Protective equipment such as masks still need to meet REACH regulations

In April 2020, the European Safety Federation made it clear on its website that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks would still have to meet requirements such as REACH.The text reads:

The conformity assessment procedures for medical devices (e.g. medical or surgical masks) are different and for those you should seek information from the relevant trade associations or authorities. The manufacturer must also check of other legislation is simultaneously applicable to the product (e.g. REACH is always applicable).

The full name of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 is "Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals", that is, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.The regulations came into effect on 1 June 2007 and came into effect on 1 June 2008.The regulation covers industries including chemical, mineral, metal, medicine, daily chemical products and other fields.Respirators and other protective equipment are subject to this regulation. Manufacturers are advised to evaluate the compliance of their products prior to export.According to REACH, the relevant test items include substances of high concern (SVHC) and lead, cadmium, o-benzene and PAHS in annex 17 of REACH.

SVHC's brief introduction:

The identification process for SVHC includes a 45-day public consultation period.Once a substance is identified as SVHC, it is added to the list of candidates established by the eu REACH regulation, which imposes direct legal obligations on the supplier of the substance, for example:

•  Provide safety specification
•  Safe use communication
• Respond to consumer requests within 45 days
• ECHA should be notified if the goods produced per manufacturer or importer per year contain more than 1 ton of SVHC by weight and if the SVHC content is above 0.1% (w/w).

GST reminds relevant enterprises to conduct product compliance assessment and collect relevant information in time to meet the requirements of regulations and standards and avoid legal disputes.We have a professional technical team to track the latest developments of regulatory standards and help you develop the most comprehensive and cost-effective test plan.If you have any questions about REACH or other product compliance, please feel free to contact us.

Link to original text:

https://www.eu-esf.org/covid-19/4513-covid-19-suspicious-certificates-for-ppe