As a consumer you are entitled to information about the toxic chemical content of any product you buy in the EU. A recent study carried out by ChemicalWatch found that not one of 14 major retailers, including Renault, Tesco, WH Smith and Argos could provide information about the toxic content of their products when asked, despite a legal obligation for them to do so within 45 days as according to article 33 of REACH, which states:

“On request by a consumer any supplier of an article containing a substance meeting the criteria [for substances that may be subject to authorisation] in Article 57 and identified in accordance with with Article 59(1) [requiring the European Chemicals Agency to create a Candidate list] in a concentration about 0.1% w/w shall provide the consumer with sufficient information, available to the supplier, to allow safe use of the article including, as a minimum, the name of that substance. The relevant information shall be provided, free of charge, within 45 days of receipt of the request.”

0.1% weight rule and access to legal opinion

Under REACH, no product manufactured or purchased in the EU should contain any more than 0.1% of a Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC), weight for weight. However, the classification of manufactured products (‘complex articles’) within REACH creates a loophole which means they can contain greater proportions of these potentially dangerous substances.

For example, a relatively simple product, like a kettle, could contain toxic chemicals that slip through the REACH regulation. The plastic in the plug may contain an SVHC, say, Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate. More commonly known as DEHP, this chemical is an endocrine disruptor, a substance that affects the hormonal system, especially during foetal development. It is known to cause birth defects including learning disabilities and reproductive disorders. The plug might contain 5% of DEHP, well above 0.1% safe limit. But, within REACH, it isn’t counted as a separate part of the product. When taken as a part of the kettle as a whole, the amount of the chemical in the plug, weight for weight, may be below the 0.1% limit. Despite containing potentially unsafe levels of a toxic substance, this product could be sold legally on EU markets without consumer knowledge.

Because the EU member states could not agree on a definition of manufactured products the Commission sought the opinion of its legal service to approve a definition. As it stands the definition would allow toxic substances to exist in components of manufactured goods in quantities greater than the 0.1% safe level. ClientEarth argues this decision was influenced by pressure from industry lawyers. In effect, the European Commission has restricted the extent of the consumer’s right to know about the toxic content of their products by making the legislation largely ineffective.